Chapter Text
Many halos floated in the sky. They orbited around a large pillar of light that broke free from the Earth. Broken pieces of land hovered around the crater; they would float down only to bounce off the cracked Earth that jutted upwards.
A tall girl with long cyan hair stood at the edge of a cliff made from black metal. Her cyan eyes sparkled as she watched the light travel into the heavens. Slowly, Arona raised her right arm towards the light. She wanted to catch it, pull the light back down and seal it into the planet once more.
She took a step forward, and fell over the edge of a cliff. Arona’s eyes widened as she felt the wind smack against her face, and her hair flail behind her. Her face was still impassive, however, as if she didn’t have a single thought behind those bright cyan eyes.
The shining pillar cast a shadow over the landscape. From the broken pieces of land, large oceans of black ink spread out, swirling and bubbling. As the girl fell down, thick tendrils floated up from the shadows and flew towards her.
Arona finally reacted, and craned her neck up to see the tendrils spiraling towards her. “Aaah!” She cried, and then brought her knees to her chest and crossed her arms in front of her. Arona’s halo pulsed, and released a wave of light that disintegrated the shadows before they could pierce through her.
Directly below Arona was a large circle made of stained glass. It floated on top of the sea of shadows. The individual panes formed an image of a large tower that seemed to go on forever, reaching above the clouds. Her descent slowed, and Arona was able to land safely on the glass.
As soon as she did, the ocean started to bubble again. More tendrils rose from the ink, but instead of rushing at her, they converged into a thick bubble in front of her, on the opposite side of the glass. More and more tendrils were absorbed into it, until it became nearly three times her size.
Arona gasped softly as the bubble swelled. A clawed arm burst out from the right, while a three-fingered limb with a twitching red eye in the center emerged from the left. Wings of ink burst out from the sides–tipped with red veins–and two hook-like feet shot out from the bottom. They stabbed into the ground to keep the monster upright.
The bubble flattened into a vaguely humanoid shape with mild curves, but that was only from shoulders down. A skull burst out from between the shoulders, in addition to a long neck with spikes running down all the way down from the neck to its back. The skull’s saw snapped open, revealing a throat filled with razor sharp teeth and a single red-eye in the back.
The long neck craned down, and the eye peered hungrily at Arona. Then, it released a loud, ear-grating scream that made Arona’s skid backwards across the glass.
[Heart Cloaked in Shadow]
HERA
Arona swallowed thickly. She separated her legs evenly and raised her fists over her chest. Her hands briefly shone, and the light hardened into two golden gauntlets with spiked knuckles.
Snarling, Hera raised its right arm and slammed it into the ground; Arona sidestepped to the right and twisted her body forward while shooting out her arm. The spikes of her gauntlets sank into the gooey flesh of the nightmare, and dealt no damage. The empty sockets of Hera’s skull flashed.
“Damn parasite,” Hera snarled. She raised her arm with Arona’s fist still inside of it, raising her into the air. Arona flailed as she struggled to pull herself out of Hera’s ink. “Obey your creator.”
Hera’s other arm opened, and eye began to pulse red. Arona’s eyes widened and she pulled harder. She raised her other fist dislodged herself by punching her fist out. She fell before a red laser could eviscerate her.
Arona landed on her back with a thud, and was barely given a moment to rest before Hera raised her spiked foot and brought it down. This time, Arona punched it away, gold meeting black metal and creating a shower of sparks upon impact. Hera was knocked off balance for long enough for Arona to get back on her feet under her feet.
Hera snarled, and head slithered down between her legs, meeting Arona halfway. Arona paused in fear when she saw that gaping maw of sharp teeth. Hera’s head surged forwards, and clamped its jaws into Arona’s right shoulder.
“Ah! Aaaaah!” Arona yelled; her knees buckled as skeletal and leech-like teeth tore into her skin. Hera pulled back fiercely, dragging Arona forwards.
“This pain will end once you obey me,” Hera spoke, her voice loud and commanding even though her teeth continued to sink deeper into Arona’s flesh.
Arona, with tears in her eyes, raised her fists and punched deep into Hera’s neck. She didn’t stop pushing until she felt the spikes of her gauntlets clash against each other. Hera gagged and eased the pressure on Arona’s shoulder, letting her step back and throw fist deep into Hera’s mouth. The spikes collided with the eyeball in the back of the throat, causing thick, crimson blood to spray out.
Hera’s neck snapped back over her body, and she spread her wings. With a single flap, she pushed Arona towards the edge of the stained glass and took flight. “How dare you…!” Hera wheezed, coughing up globules of blood which fell to the ground with wet smacks.
Arona glared up at Hera, and didn’t say a thing. Hera raised her long neck and screeched into the air; the black ink from the ocean flew into the globs of blood and caused them to transform into nude mannequin with clawed fingers. “Punish her!”
The mannequins advanced while Hera remained in the air. Arona smiled.
The first one raised its claws and swiped down; Arona tilted her body to the right and brought her knee upwards, making it double over slightly. She then punched through the mannequin's head, making it collapse onto the floor as a puddle of blood.
The other two mannequins attacked at the same time, throwing the arms in large, wild arcs. Arona could dodge their strikes, but with two of them attacking one would leave her open to attack from the other.
Briefly, Arona looked up at the sky. She could see Hera’s left-arm open, with the eye flashing once more.
Arona turned back to the mannequins. When one raised its arm, Arona bent her knees and surged forwards, slamming them away with her shoulders. She sprinted to the center of the glass and turned around. With closed eyes and a tilt of her head, Arona beckoned them closer with a crook of her finger.
The mannequins raced towards her at the same time Hera saw her moment to strike.
Arona jumped backwards, avoiding the claws of the mannequins as well as the laser fire from Hera’s palm. The mannequins were bathed in superheated light, and when the light faded they were gone. Reduced to atoms.
Hera released a guttural roar from her throat. “Look what you made me do. Pieces of my power; gone for the sake of your own ego.” Arona whirled around and glared at the unholy beast.
Hera’s black and red wings spread wide open; the red veins glistened and started to drip. She shot out red spikes with a flap of her wings. Arona raised her arms to protect her face, letting her spikes bounce off them while the others tore through her body. Arona coughed and gagged as each spike ripped her flesh apart. She forced the bile rising up her through to stay down.
“Foul beast!” Hera flew back down, and slammed both fists into the ground. The blow rocked the stained glass and launched Arona into the air. “Worthless scum!” Hera brought her left fist towards Arona to grab her.
Arona turned in the air and brought her fist down, slamming it into Hera’s palm-eye. It burst, and Hera shrieked in pain as she drew her arm away.
When Arona landed on the ground, she stumbled to her knees. She was covered in blood, there were holes in her body wide enough to see through her. “Nnn…! Haaaaah…” Arona let out a wet cough, causing more blood to spill onto her shirt.
She’s through.
Hera landed in front of her. The skull’s red eyes bore into her. “You are worthless. Without me, you have no meaning.” Arona’s body jerked when Hera’s right arm grabbed her and lifted her up. “Return to me. With my guidance, you will find purpose.”
Arona’s eyes dimmed as Hera brought her closer to her wide-open mouth.
There was a loud crunch, and a shower of blood spilled onto the ground.
Arona’s eyes were bleary when she woke up. Her halo flickered on, casting a light blue glow above her.
She was not inside of a pitch black abyss. She was not being eaten alive by a monstrous creature made of darkness. She was simply laying down on her bed. Her large, king-sized canopy bed is draped in expensive, pure white silk covers.
Yes, Arona is actually filthy rich.
Slowly, she rolled towards the side of her bed and fell off the edge. The thud echoed in her large room. From there, Arona wormed her way towards her dresser; literally undulating her body up and down to push herself towards it. Once her head bonked against the shelves, she raised one arm and pulled herself up to her knees. Arona smacked her lips together as her hands fumbled around for a comb.
She ended up pushing something off the dresser. It landed with a slight crack. Blinking, Arona turned her head down to look at what she dropped.
It was an alarm clock (she placed it away from her bed so that she could actually get up to stop the ringing). The cracked screen read ‘9:15’.
Arona blinked. “Wait…” She couched, her throat still a little dry. “Doesn’t orientation start at… 10:00!” She shot up to her feet and pushed open the doors to her balcony. From here, she could see the Sactum Tower off in the distance, and the sun already slightly above the halos that orbited it.
“Mama’s… going to kill me,” Arona muttered in a dead voice.
Breakfast was an awkward affair. Arona was on the side of the dining table, hands nervously balled onto her lap. On the other side was her mother: Shoki Okanakami.
Arona was the spitting image of her mother; they had the same blue and pink hair, the same cyan eyes and soft, rounded eyes. There were only a few meaningful differences between them; Okanakami had her hair tied in a bun while Arona’s was loose and draped down to her lower back, Okanakami had barely noticeable crow’s feet, and she was visibly bigger than Arona in all areas.
Okanakami narrowed her eyes at Arona, making her slouch even more in her seat. The older woman tapped her finger against the head of her kiseru, causing ash to fall from the shank onto the tray below it. “You were supposed to be awake an hour ago.” Okanakami placed her pipe on the table. The quiet thud echoed loudly in the room. “Today is your orientation. Perhaps one of the most important days of your school career.”
“I’m sorry, Mama,” Arona murmured softly. “I didn’t mean to wake up late.”
“I know that. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” Okanakami sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I called the test protectors and told them to wait until you’ve arrived.”
“Thank you, Mama,” Arona murmured softly. “I’m sorry for making you go through all this trouble to help me.”
Okanakami narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “It was barely any trouble, Arona. But I shouldn’t be doing this at all. Look at me.” Slowly, Arona tilted her upwards, just enough to meet the cold, frustrated gaze of her mother. “All the way. Let me see you clearly. And sit up straight; you’ll have a hunchback in your twenties with posture like that.”
Arona nodded. She straightened her back, but kept her hands on her lap. She forced herself to meet the fierce gaze of her mother. Okanakami regarded her with a frown and continued, “As a student of Kivotos, you're going to face many challenges and responsibilities that you must handle on your own.”
Arona nodded. “I cannot hold your hand through every step of your school career. It's an insult to the other girls who have travelled miles from their home to attend. And it’s an insult to your own intelligence for me to have to tell you to get up, eat, go to school, and do your homework everyday.” Arona nodded. “Attending Kivotos is a privilege, Arona. Don’t forget that. Start acting like you’re worthy to be here.”
Arona pursed her lips, and nodded. “Yes, Mama. I won’t forget.” Once she said that, her stomach grumbled.
Okanakami breathed in deeply and exhaled. She snapped her fingers and pointed to Arona. From the corner, a robotic servant with tank treads and decorated with a black suit rolled over to her and dropped a large silver platter in front of her. “You may eat now.”
“Thank you, Mama.” Arona lifted the lid and started to eat her rice and grilled fish.
Okanakami watched her for a few minutes before standing up. The sound of the chair scraping against the floor made Arona instinctively stop eating. “I have to leave for work now. I trust that you’ll follow my advice and behave responsibly?”
Arona swallowed and nodded. “Of course, Mama.”
“Good. And leave your brass knuckles at home.” Okanakami stood up and grabbed her pipe. “I don’t want to hear any calls from the proctors about your misbehavior, understand?”
“Yes, Mama,” Arona repeated for the nth time.
Okanakami nodded at her, and then swiftly left the room. Once the door closed, Arona continued to eat her breakfast, downing the rice and fish as quickly as she could. “I really hope there is still a bus left for me…”
Kivotos is an… odd place.
Arona hummed as she looked out the bus window at the cyan halos in the sky. She wondered how they floated up there, and why they orbited around the Sanctum Tower. Most of all she wondered why she had a Halo.
Arona looked up and stared curiously at the glowing blue ring hovering above her; there was a point that shined bright like a star on the left side of it. It’s so weird, and fascinating, too. She reached up and touched; it was smooth and metallic, but also warm, too. The points of the star were slightly sharp, to. She could probably stab someone with it.
With that thought, Arona wondered how her birth worked. Did she already have her Halo before she was born? Assumedly not, otherwise Mama probably would’ve complained about Arona tearing up her insides during childbirth.
It’s weird how strong halo made her, at least in her opinion. Arona hummed; she reached into her denim jacket and pulled her Apache Revolver. It is a small, very tiny gun that fits in the palm of her hand. Instead of a normal handle, Arona’s revolver had brass knuckles she could use in case she ran out of ammo. It also had a small knife attached to the front that she could fold in and out like a switchblade. That, mixed with the lack of barrel, made her revolver more of a close-range weapon.
Arona always thought that students using guns was a little weird. Everyone with a halo is essentially bulletproof. Even being shot point blank with a shotgun would only result in a girl being knocked back and getting a stomach ache. They were basically immune to everything but themselves; getting hit by a normal human and a girl wouldn’t flinch; get hit by a girl with a halo and you could break her nose.
So, realistically, using brass knuckles should deal more damage to a girl with halo. Arona has never actually done it, but it should be possible. As for the knife… Well, Arona doesn’t really need to shank someone (yet), but having the option is nice.
“Hm…” Arona flipped the blade off and on, letting the soft clicking sound of the blade locking into place. What was she thinking about just now? Arona furrowed her brows in annoyance.
Oh, right, Kivotos and its oddities.
Arona looked away from the window and towards the bus driver, an anthropomorphic sparrow. Arona was the only human on the bus. It was mostly filled with other anthropomorphic animals and robots with their own free will.
The anthropomorphs weren’t unheard of across the world, but they were rare. The robots, however, were unique and exclusive to Kivotos. They’ve lived here the whole time, and never left. One time, when Arona asked one how they were created, they shrugged.
“I just kinda woke up, one day and knew I had to go to work,” They said, completely unbothered by their own response. Arona wondered if the robots truly had free will after she heard. There should be report after report of robots going insane or having existential crises, shouldn’t there?
Kivotos is so mysterious, Arona thought to herself. She wants to learn as much as she can. I wonder what would happen if I unravel it all…
Arona kept flicking the knife of her revolver on and off until she heard the bus begin to stop. She furrowed her brows and sat up to look out the window.
“Apologies for the inconvenience,” the sparrow said (evidently a female based on her voice), “but there appears to be a shoot out occurring in the streets ahead. Right now I’m estimating a twenty minute delay before we reach our next stop. If the road is still intact, that is.”
“A shoot out?” Arona repeated. She stood and walked towards the front. She could hear guns firing, and a large cloud of smoke covered the area. “Excuse me, may I please leave the bus?”
The bus driver looked at her and frowned, as much as a beak could frown, anyways. “Are you sure? It seems quite dangerous out there! I don’t want my passengers to get hurt.”
“It’s okay, really!” Arona shook her head; her halo followed her movements a split second delay. “It’s not like I’ll be hurt too much out there.”
The bus driver still looked conflicted, so Arona kept on smiling. Eventually, the driver sighed and opened the doors. “Oh, all right. But be careful out there!”
“Thank you!” Arona bowed to the driver and then got off the bus. “So much for not getting into trouble…” She sighed. Arona raised her gun and carefully crossed the street.
What caused this…? Is this a fight between gangs? Arona wondered. She was no stranger to gunfights. There was one basically everyday, either between rival gangs or friends. She’s even been shot a couple times before.
But although Arona’s had some firearm training before… she’s never actually entered the fray before, not like this. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she ducked behind a car turned to its side. “Maybe this was a bad idea… huh?”
The smoke was suddenly pushed away with a powerful and sudden gust of wind. Some of it got into her, making Arona squint and look. When she reopened them, Arona gasped upon seeing a large metal bird robot, some kind of hawk, standing in front of a squad of helmet-wearing students.
Trapped beneath the hawk’s foot was a girl. Her face was flushed, and she had tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes were pointed like an elf’s, and she had long, inky black hair that was dark blue on the inside. There was also a shattered pair of glasses right next to her,
“Oh no…” Arona bit her lip anxiously. The bird robot leaned down and released a loud screech; as it adjusted its weight, it buried the girl under it’s foot deeper into the ground, making her yell in pain.
“Ha ha haah!” A voice called out from the robot. “You really think you can beat me, now that I have this? No! The Kata-Kata Helmet Gang will be nothing more than a memory when I’m through with you!”
“As if!” The lead gangster in the red helmet shouted. “Light ‘em up! Again!”
“But boss! Our fire did nothing to it last time!”
“Well then aim for someplace else! There’s got to be a weak point! Now, fire!” Despite their reluctance, the helmet gangsters drew their weapons and fired. Bullets landed on the hawk robot’s joints, head and chest. However, they all bounced off the robot harmlessly. Eventually, the gunfire stopped.
“It didn’t do anything!? Again!?” The gangster in the red helmet growled. “Damn it! Fire again! Fire everything?”
“Uh, boss…? We don’t have any more ammo…” One of the lower-ranked gangster turned her backpack over and shook it, but nothing fell out. This made the red-helmet gangster sweat.
“Is that all? Good. Now, it’s my turn!” The hawk leaned down. Missile ports opened on its shoulders, and its peak opened to reveal a rotary cannon that slowly spinning to life.
The leader dropped her gun. “Run for it!” She yelled. The robot started to fire as soon as they scattered. It also spread its wings; large turbines started to spin, allowing the robot to hover in the sky.
“Now!” Arona ran out of her cover and ran towards the fallen girl, scooping her and her glasses into her arms and running down the street. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you to safety!” She reassured her.
“Nnnhh…?” The girl in her arms murmured in a dazed, scratchy voice. Arona held her tightly around the waist.
“We’re just going to leave this street and you’ll be fine–!” She stopped as a helmet-wearing girl was suddenly slammed into the ground in front of her.
“Ow, my head…!” She groaned, as if she hadn’t just been blasted in the chest by a missile. “Huh…? Hey, wait a minute, that’s our hostage! We called dibs on her first.”
“H-hostage?” Arona looked between the girl in her arms and the gangster. She didn’t look very familiar.
Still, that didn’t stop the gangster from pointing her shotgun at Arona’s head. “That’s right! So unless you want to go back home in an ambulance, you better give up now!”
Arona stared blankly at the gangster. “Hmm… no,” She said. She could see the girl seethe behind her visor.
“Oh, yeah!? Eat lead in th–!” But Arona had already pulled her revolver and fired three bullets; two into the girl's helmet, and one into her stomach. The force of the consecutive blows made her gag and be knocked halfway down the street.
When the girl started to get up, Arona fired another bullet at the gangster’s head to make her collapse with a groan. “Okay, now we can go!” She told the rattled girl in her arms. She nodded and agreed and let Arona carry her away.
All the while, the robotic hawk screeched and kept blasting the Helmet Gang with missiles and bullets.
Soon, Arona managed to carry her and the new girl to a nearby park away from the fire fight. She gently set the rattled girl down on a wooden bench and sat next to her.
“Ooof, that sure was crazy, huh?” Arona mentioned as she dusted soot off of her skirt. “I’ve never seen a robot that big before!” The girl’s blue eyes darted to Arona briefly, and then went back to the ground.
Arona smiled awkwardly. “Ah, hah hah! It was a little intense, though. It broke your glasses, but don’t worry, I can fix it!” Arona reached into her backpack and pulled out a roll of tape. She clicked the snapped bridge of the glasses together, and wrapped underneath layers of adhesive. “Tadaa! All better!”
She handed the glasses over. The other girl gently grabbed them and placed them back on her nose. One half of the glasses tipped over slightly. “...Thank you,” she murmured softly.
“No problem!” Arona leaned back on the seat and beamed. “What’s your name, anyways?”
“...Nanagami Rin,” she told Arona. “I doubt it’s a name you’d recognize.”
“Should I recognize your name? That girl called you a hostage, so you’d have to be someone really important, right?” Arona asked her curiously.
Rin shook her head. “Father is just a salaryman. Mother is just a small-time actress still working her way up the industry. No, I’m not famous.”
Arona tilted her head in confusion. “Then, why were you a hostage…?”
“One of the thugs was a fan of an episode of a melodrama Mother starred in,” Rin told her. “And then I had a bag thrown over my head.”
“Ah, that must’ve been disappointing…” Arona nodded.
Rin’s lips quivered. “It’s terrifying! I haven’t been in this goddamn school for three whole hours and I’ve already been shot, stomped at, and my glasses are broken, a-and…!” Her voice hitched as she tried to calm herself down.
Arona’s bubbly expression dropped. “Hey, hey, it’s okay…” She placed a hand on Rin’s shoulder, but she slapped it away.
“D-don’t say that! It isn't!” Rin hissed through her teeth, making Arona jump back. “I miss home. I want to be back with my mom…!”
“Ah…” Arona bit her lip. What could she even say? She was born in Kivotos, and all of its oddities were a part of her life. How can she console a girl crying about all the strange things she considers natural?
Well, there is one thing she can relate to. Arona scooted closer to Rin, until their shoulders brushed together. “You care a lot about your Mama, right?” She asked Rin.
“Obviously. And Father, too” Rin scoffed. “I want to make them proud. That's why I decided to attend Kivotos in the first place, but now…” Her voice choked up again.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be your guide!” Arona chirped happily.
Rin furrowed her brows at Arona. “What… Do you mean?”
“It means I’ll be by your side until you get used to Kivotos,” Arona explained to Rin. “I’ll teach you how to use the bus stops, how to manage your gun properly, show you all the best places to get food, and more! And, whenever you miss home, I’ll be there to help feel better, okay?”
Rin blinked incredulously and watched Arona close her fingers except for her pinkie. “It’s a promise, okay? Let’s be friends!”
“Friends…?” Rin looked down at the proffered finger with a frown. “Will you really help me? But…”
“It’s no problem at all, really!” Arona told her. “I’d do anything to help my classmates. I want to make your school career the happiest days of your life. So, will you let me be your friend?” She raised her hand higher.
Rin pursed her lips. “...okay,” She spoke in a quiet voice. She raised her hand, and wrapped her pinkie around Arona’s.
She giggled brightly. “My name’s Arona. It’s nice to meet you, Rin!”
“Likewise,” Rin's lips twitched, and eventually curled upwards into a gentle smile.
“Oh, wow! Your smile is really pretty, Rin!” Arona told her. Rin blinked in surprise and looked away.
“I, uh…” She swallowed thickly and placed a hand over her mouth. “We should probably head to the International Auditorium now. I’m late for orientation.”
Arona nodded. It took her a few seconds to register what Rin had said. “Ahh! I completely forgot about orientation! Oh no, Mama is going to kill me! C’mon, Rin!” She reached forwards and grabbed her new friend’s wrist. “C’mon, let’s go!”
“A-Ah, right!” Rin gasped quietly as Arona hauled her up to her feet and dragged her down the road. She held onto Arona’s wrist tightly to not let go.