Tristitia's Embrace - Prolemius

The first Intro to the Tristitia's Embrace series.

It was dark outside, the only thing seen were bloodstains painted on the ground. Dead soldiers lay on the ground motionless. Four friends stood beside him, all leaning on their weapons for support. Blood was dripping from their wounds. In Zach's hand was a crimson sword, on it a warrior in bright gleaming gold armour with a crest of flames on it. The chest plate was stained in red amidst the golden colour. The warrior fell with a thick thud. Zach's arms went numb and the blade dropped from his grip. He landed on his knees. Salty tears streamed out of his eyes as he gazed up into the cloudy sky. A girl from the group came over to him and hugged him. Zach lay his head on her shoulder and sobbed into it.

“It's over...” He mumbled before the girl lay her head on his.

Zach woke up suddenly. His chest pounded, and a stream of light was hitting his grassy green eyes. Zach lied in bed, pondering on his dream. He kept having a few recurring dreams like this one. Usually they were about him winning a great battle or something along those lines. It all felt vivid in the dream, he could feel every wound and every emotion ongoing. He could feel the presence of his comrades fighting with him, though he never recognized them outside of the dream.

Zach shrugged and got out of his bed and closed the curtains. He stifled a yawn as he took out a bright green shirt to match his shorts and a pair of navy blue jeans. Eyeing the red leather jacket he got for his fourteenth birthday, he smirked and took it out. It still held the aroma of freshness since the day he received it. It came with a handy hood that he could use to conceal his neon green hair.

Finally ready, he walked downstairs to meet his parents for breakfast.

"Good morning," his mother said with a smile. “How did you sleep?” She held out one hand to supply the fire for the pancakes she was preparing.

"Pretty well..." His father eyed him curiously from the edge of the newspaper. Zach shifted around his seat anxiously before telling them about the dream.

“And then this girl came to me and she just hugged me for some reason...” Zach finished while his face went beet red from blushing. Zach's father gave a hearty laugh.

“A truly great story: Blood, dead soldiers, and a then girl just comes and tops the cake off?” He continued laughing. “So tell me, how pretty was she?”

“Sort of pretty, I guess,” Zach noted as his cheeks began to warm up.

“Hmm, was she prettier than your mother?” He asked with a wide grin. Seconds later a fireball was inches away from incinerating his face. Zach's mother came and viciously grabbed his collar.

“I dare you to repeat that again in front of my face,” Zach's mother howled.

“I'm pretty sure you are supposed to be more concerned about our little love bird's opinion,” Zach's father winked at him as he momentarily froze. His mother turned fiercely at Zach with blazing eyes. Zach whimpered.

“No no, not at all,” Zach stammered out. “Nobody could compare to you, mum.” He gave an uncertain smile. His mother sighed and relaxed her grip on the father. He gave one last laugh before stroking the black hair out of his bright blue eyes. Zach's mother seemed to be fixed on the brown highlights around his eyes, and his father blushed slightly with a carefree grin.

“It seems I captivated you again with my dashing looks,” he smirked as Zach's mother pounded his head with her elbow.

“Ow!” He yelped. “I need my brain for just a bit longer.”

“I couldn't care less,” his mother said before looking at the shivering Zach. “Oh right, Zach, didn't you forget about something?”

Zach sat silent for a few seconds, his mind blank. Then panic struck him.

“School... D****t I'll be late!” Zach yelled as he hastily finished his breakfast, put on his sneakers, and bolted out of the door with his father laughing hysterically.

He arrived to realize he was early. His panting ceased as he looked around the academy.

The academy was quite large, three stories tall painted a dark violet, alongside an outdoor football area. Inside huge swaths of students huddled together, each one of them chatting away with their friends. A few heads turned to look at Zach, shrugged, and then continued in their conversation. Zach pulled up his hood to prevent any more people from noticing. Zach scanned the crowd, finding a girl with bubblegum pink hair and dark black eye-liner. Thick mascara was splashed on her face. A slight trace of blue could be noticed under her sunken eyes. She wore a short sleeved black shirt with flames etched into them.

Temptation almost made Zach walk over to her before an unfamiliar voice told him to stop. Zach turned around and saw a fairly tall boy, a bit older than he was. Blond hair flowed from his face besides his sea blue eyes. The boy smirked.

“She's not the type you would want to get invested in.”

“What happened to her?”

“Long story. I'm sure it was very emotional and traumatic,” he laughed. “The name's Thomas. Nice to meet you," Thomas replied with an outstretched hand.

"I'm Zach," he said gripping his hand. Tom eyed him, his eyes averting to his scalp.

"Um... Any rules I should know about before getting my a*s kicked?" Zach joked. Thomas gave a short laugh.

"Alright, let's set the ground rules. Rule number one: I'm the greatest guy on the planet, so all girls belong to me!" Thomas shouted with his fist in the air. Zach stifled a laugh as a few girls awkwardly walked away.

“Okay okay, I still haven’t gotten a girlfriend... Or even been on a date, yet.”

“You need to learn a lot about girls.”

“Hey shut up. Do you know anything about relationships?”

“Only that a complete idiot would be invested in one at this age,” Zach replied as a challenge.

“That complete idiot would have struck it big,” Thomas replied. “Whatever, you're still too young to understand. By the way, there's a really cute chick heading your way.”

Zach became flustered as he turned around quickly. Immediately his hood was pulled back.

“Hey! What the hell!” Zach yelled as he frantically tried putting it up.

“Aha! I knew something was odd. I didn't think guys would dye their hair green when they are so young, but hey, whatever makes you comfortable,” Thomas said. Zach gave a sheepish grin before noticing a larger boy with a mohawk.

“Is he someone I should know?” Zach asked as Thomas glanced in that direction.

“Oh him. Don't worry about him, kind of a tough guy. Very soft and squishy on the inside.”

"The school bully?"

"Nah, too generic. More like the guy who just kinda exists to be a dick to everyone else," Tom said as he turned to Zach again.

"You know the seven deadly sins?”

“Lust, wrath, greed, envy, pride, gluttony, and sloth?”

“Exactly. That guy there is wrath, greed, and pride incarnate. Be careful around him. Give him any excuse to beat you up, and he will take it. Unfortunately, he isn't the dumb brute stereotype. He knows his way around fighting another human. Just... Don't say I didn't warn you."

“Noted, thanks for the info.”

The bell rang and all the students piled into the hallways. Zach noticed the pink-haired girl was holding hands with the mohawk-guy.

Zach walked away from the school as the streams of students trampled outside. He passed tall, cream coloured buildings against the brightly lit sky. Graffiti sprawled against the walls, outlining various phrases and images. A cold sensation approached him. Thinking he was imagining it, he carried on. However, the sensing kept intensifying, soon he could feel a shallow cry of plea. It directed him towards the source, and Zach subconsciously obliged. He found the source, in an alleyway. A crystalline pattern of a snowflake was laid out on the ground. From the pattern individual strands crept along the walls. As Zach went closer to the pattern, coldness grew significantly. In the corner he spotted a crouching figure. It was a girl, relatively pale, with long white hair that came down to her hips.

Before he had any time to inquire the figure, something freezing punctured his shoulder. It wasn't deep, but pain fired up into his brain as he yelled out. Blood slowly oozed out, the coldness slowly subduing his shoulder muscles. His arm started going numb. Another spear came hurtling but only managed to scrape Zach's cheek. Zach was already ready for another attack and swiftly dodged the third spear heading for his abdomen. The girl too, was standing. In its hand was a long lance, resonating with the snowflake pattern on the ground.

The girl lashed out, the spear flying threw the air, landing into the wall beside Zach. Finding a Spirit Kin was rare enough for Zach, fighting one even rarer. The girl probably had more powers she was letting him notice. With not much time to think, a flame ignited in Zach's palm and he hurled it at the figure. The flame exploded upon impact, but the figure stood there unharmed, a wall of ice stood between them, quickly melting. Zach cursed as he let flames enshroud him. Warmth enveloped him, his shoulder quickly gaining life. Once he was fully covered, he rushed up towards the figure with a fist aiming to her face. The girl dodged his punch. Zach grinned as the figure smashed into the wall after a gust of wind slammed her from his free hand. Zach leaned over the girl and grimaced. The thought of harming a girl never appealed to him. The next thing Zach knew was that there was a knife on his throat. Zach grabbed it, feeling the numbness to grow in his hand. He tugged the object from her grasp and flung it away, still holding onto the girl.

"Who are you?" Zach yelled at the girl, his eyes wide from the adrenaline rush.

She didn't reply, instead she readied herself for another attack. She froze Zach's legs and shoved him back. The muscles in his legs went completely numb from the cold as he fell hard on his back, his breath escaping his lungs. He didn't have much time to gather up his breath back, as the girl lunged at him with another lance in her hand. Combusting his feet, he was able to melt his legs and propel himself backwards. The girl landed on the hard ground in a crash, the projectile broken in her hand. Not thinking twice, he plummeted a gust of wind into her, causing a distraction. With his other hand he ignited it, and sent a punch into her side. Although a layer of ice did manage to suppress some of the damage, it didn't fully withstand it and shattered. The girl fell over and Zach grabbed her before she fell. She created another spear in her hand, but Zach ripped it from her grasp and pointed the tip of it to her throat. He hesitated before throwing the spear away.

“No. I can't do it.”

The girl sat up and stared at him. Zach's gaze drifted downwards from her grey eyes.

“The world isn't so nice to people like you.”

“I guess. What can I do about it,” Zach smirked. The girl's smug expression didn't change.

“Sorry,” she muttered before she thrust another spear into Zach's face. He instinctively moved out of the way, though it managed to graze his shoulder. He winced as the new wound opened up another gate to pain. Grabbing it, he pulled the girl to him and forcefully kicked her abdomen with his knee. She yelped as she was slammed onto the floor.

“Sorry my a*s. You want to kill me so badly, and yet, what have I done to you?” Zach yelled into her face.”

“You found me.”

“I felt cold trail on a normal sunny day. I traced it and found you. I found a half torn, decomposing Spirit Kin lying down, slowly waiting to kill another person. Next time make sure your presence is less obvious,” Zach exclaimed as he turned to leave. He stopped when a small hand was tugging his arm.

“Why are you holding onto me? I'm going away, just like you wanted.”

“No,” she stammered and gripped tighter. “We are both of the same race... Just a while?”

“Why? I thought a murderer is best left alone.”

She crawled closer and stood up and lay her palm on his wounded shoulder. She was quite shorter than him. The pain slowly faded away from his shoulder, feeling good as new. The girl walked away and curled into a ball on the ground.

“You weren't the first person to come around... You know?”

Zach slowly sat down next to her, still poised for an attack.

“You're the first person who didn't want to kill me.”

Zach's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat.

“Who else came?”

The girl exhaled. “Men, dressed in red with black sacks on their heads. They all had guns in their hands, all pointing at me. They were grinning the whole time, until they hit the floor dead.”

Slight electric shocks climbed down Zach's spine.

“They are an organization known as the Black Raven Brotherhood. They hunt us down relentlessly and mercilessly. We're just trash to them... Just... God damn...Trash... Needing to be burned to ashes,” The girl fell silent as she let out silent sobs.

Zach sat there, staring at the girl in empathy, who just a moment ago tried to kill him in cold blood. Fear slowly crept into his senses and found himself trembling slightly. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

Is the world that bad? Are there people who relentlessly murdered us while our parents watched it? Or did they slaughter the whole family together?

Zach thought as he bit his lip. He looked at the sobbing girl and without thinking put a hand on her shoulder. It was smooth underneath the thin garment, the chill transferring itself to his fingers. She stopped sobbing and looked at Zach, her snowy eyes encircled by a ring of red.

“You're... Not joking, right?” He asked as she shook her head slightly. Zach sighed.

“Why... Why are you touching me?”

“I can't just stand here and watch a girl cry without feeling the urge to do something... We're the same race, we shouldn't be fighting each other. We shouldn't be fighting anyone at all. It just gives birth to hate and war. Pain.”

“But... They want to kill us all. They want to eliminate us because we pose a threat to regular humans. I tried to kill you!, isn't that a good enough reason for you to kill me?”

Zach gritted his teeth as his feelings began to conflict. “Whatever you have done before, you can change... You don't have to go killing everyone because they came close.”

“Do you even know the outside world? It's nothing but the survival of the fittest. The strong kill the weak... They kill us while we are still young so we don't rebel later.”

“We may have powers they can only fantasise about that they fear... But we have the same nature as humans. We originated from humans. However, we become Spirit Knights, the protectors of the land and space. We help everyone, regardless of their race.”

“How naïve. Are you so blind that you cannot see the hatred between everyone? Between us?”

“No. I can see the hatred from you. However, seeing you as you are now, I well, a, confused. I never thought that anyone would want us dead but... There is evidence before me," he mumbled, glancing at the girl. "Everyone should recognise us, live in a place were we no longer have to live in dark alleys of fear. If no one can do it, then I will force the world to change.” Zach forced a grin. “We Spirit Kin originate from humans, who are most notorious for their crazy ideals. It's natural that some of their traits rubbed onto us.”

The girl was silent before sniffing and outstretching her hand. Zach was puzzled.

“I'm Shastice! I'll be the one to help you force the world to change,” she shouted out. “If you ever decide to stop with your ideas, I will slay you.”

Zach gave a slight smile as he took her hand. “Glad to meet you, Shastice. I'm Zach, and together we will succeed in our goals.”

Zach woke up again to the stream of light hitting his face. He got up and looked at his clothes spread out across his chair. The shoulder of his red jacket was ripped wide open. Zach stumbled towards it and observed it. It was a clean rip, a few stitches should do the trick. He took the jacket and headed downstairs. There, his father was gazing at him with those navy blue eyes.

“So, will you tell us where you were yesterday or will we gradually intimidate you into telling us?”

“I was at a friend's place. She invited me over and...” He stopped as his face flushed after realising what he said. His father burst out laughing.

“N-no! It's not like that. I promise,” Zach stammered out of himself as his father was rolling on the floor.

“It wasn't even her house, we just went uh... for coffee. And shopping.”

“Sure, shopping. I wonder for what you were shopping for,” Zach's father replied as he stared at Zach humorously. His mother came and whacked his head with a wooden spoon before looking at Zach. The blood from his cheeks was all gone and now they were icy like Shastice.

“You fool! You should have come home as soon as possible, not much later when both of us were gone!” She yelled at Zach. “You could have had the decency to leave a message at the very least.”

“I'm sorry mum... It was foolish and I forgot,” Zach started begging. She let out a sigh.

“All right, apology accepted, for now. It's just that we were afraid that well...”

“The Black Raven Brotherhood?” Zach blurted out. Both of his parents were shocked.

“They truly exist?” Zach asked and his father with a rare serious face walked towards him.

“Yes. That's why we were afraid.” He bit his lip before continuing. “They are an organisation known for causing several mass murders of Spirit Kin in the past, and started the War of Oregon a few years back. They launched an attack on us, and we decimated their main forces. However, they managed to wreck enough havoc and blame it on us for it. Their main goal was to frame us, not to win against us. They need all the support they can get, and whichever b*****d is behind the whole Brotherhood sure knows how to do their job.”

“So we contacted the Youth Academy of Kin to come and take you in a few weeks as you turned fifteen this summer. You'll be safer there,” his mother continued.

“But, what about you two?”

“It will be fine,” his father said as he placed a hand on Zach's green hair. “Once you train and become stronger, we can work together on missions. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Zach replied with a grin. “You'll see how much better I will become!”

Shastice woke up with a scream emerging from her lungs just as the flames engulfed her. Sweat was on her face and all over her body, dousing her gown that she had worn for a long time. It was long dark outside, and there wasn't anyone to hear her. She placed a palm on her forehead and realised she was shaking quite terribly. It was hard concentrating on falling asleep. She wondered if that Zach would ever visit her again. Even if she almost killed him, he still vowed with her. Shastice's mind was confused, he could potentially be one of them sent to earn her trust. His look didn't convey it though, unlike the coldness and bloodthirst in the men's eyes, she only saw youth and a trail of warmth.

Her stomach growled as dizziness soon started to grow onto her, and her senses swayed. Shastice found herself lying once again on the floor, unmoving until a couple of voices were heard just barely to the ear. Awoken from her dreamy state, Shastice crept outside to find a few men in red veils on the other street all drinking and smoking, giving loud remarks about what has happened in their lives.

Shastice's eyes widened as she stifled a gasp. It was them again. She slowly prepared for an attack before she caught a few words about that green haired boy. That made Shastice stop and listen intently.

"Oi what do you think the boss has with that boy? He seemed pretty serious when he was giving us our orders."

"Ye he sure was in a bad mood back then. I wonder why that kid is so important."

"Dunno, yer guess is as good as mine. All I know is that I don't want to end up on his bad side. A one way trip to Zebes isn't something I am too fond of."

“Yer right Tim. He said something about being careful around that dude, but I mean c'mon, he's only a kid.”

“Precisely Johnny. Before you know it, the psychopath’s plan will be complete and there will be no more future of the Spirit Kin in the world. Ha, I would want to see them all burn to ashes and be with my wife again.”

They all laughed drunkly as Shastice was gritting her teeth and trembling from the rage and hunger. She wanted them to be gone so much, she wanted the flames that took away her

Childhood to engulf them and see them suffer. A streak of tears from her eyes, she bolted ahead with a cry. The drunk men were all silenced and confused by the girl charging at them full speed. She willed a spear to be formed in her palm and thrust it forcefully through the first man's chest. Blood gushed out as the man choked and quickly fell from the lance with a thud. The rest, stricken, began to panic and run for their lives, wailing. Their legs froze on command, and they landed on their faces. Shastice walked over to them while they began yelling and screaming. Their leg muscles no longer could move, so the two men decided to scratch at the ice, hoping it will break or give away. It was too late, as Shastice stood mightily above them, her fists balled around two spears.

“Your wish will be granted. You will see us, the ones you murdered, burning alongside you in hell,” Shastice spoke in a murderous tone. They both begged and sobbed, pleading to let them go, that they will reform. Shastice closed her eyes and thrust the two spears into the men, their frantic flailing stopping as soon as the spear pierced their skin.

Shastice woke again as she heard footsteps approach her. It took a second for her to snap out of her sleep and point the end of a spear towards Zach's throat. He stumbled and fell backwards.

“Oh... It's you...” She whispered before rolling over.

“Yeah... I'm sorry you treasure your sleep so much,” He replied as he got up.

“I was out during the night... Then something happened and then I fell asleep again,” Shastice yawned.

“Maybe if you stayed and slept some more we wouldn't have this problem,” Zach sighed as he took out a bar of chocolate. “You must have been hungry, and we have a lot of this at our place so I thought I would give you some.”

Shastice slowly crept up to Zach and eyed the bar before snatching it from his hand. She tore it open and stuffed her mouth with the chocolate. The sweet flavour lavished in her mouth, begging for her to eat more. A gentle smile crept along her lips as she happily chomped on the

chocolate. From the corner of her eye she noticed Zach silently gazing at her with a soft smile along his face too. Puzzled, she faced him with a quizzical look.

“I'm not meaning anything when I say this, but that's a pretty smile,” he said with a joyful glee on his face.

She muttered a silent thanks and finished the rest of it. The sweet savoury taste lingered on.

“You should loosen up more. Just relax and enjoy more of what this world has to offer. Life isn't just one dark journey through time,” Zach said as he began to turn to leave.

“Hey,” Shastice mumbled to Zach. He looked back. “I... Yesterday when I went out, I heard men's voices. They had red cloaks and... They mentioned your name.”

His eyes widened. “Were they them... The Black Raven Brotherhood?”

“I know how they look by now well enough,” Shastice replied as she curled back into a ball.

“Did... Did they mention anything else?”

Shastice looked up into his eyes. “They want you.”

He gulped before nodding his head.

“Be careful...” Shastice warned silently as Zach began walking away.

“Yeah... I'll try,” he replied before leaving.

As soon as Shastice was out of his view, his head grew dizzy. He held the wall support as his legs began to intertwine. Nausea built up in him, and he leaned over to gag. After several gasps, Zach tried to calm his shaking body while evaluating his options. He could tell his parents and have them figure something out, or withhold the information from them. Telling his parents may be the safer option, but he would burden them with his own problems. Watching their faces sombre with fear and the need to protect is not want he wanted. Zach in the end decided to not speak of the issue, maybe the danger will subside over time if he's careful.

“What's on your mind?” Thomas asked Zach during their free time. Zach's unblinking eyes bore holes into the ground in front of him.

“Huh?” Zach asked after he was snapped out of his daze. Thomas sighed and waved his hand.

“It's unlike you to be spacing out like this.”

“Yeah,” Zach muttered. “Hey... Do you know something called the Black Raven Brotherhood?”

Thomas stroked back his blonde hair before replying. “Yeah, I heard about them. Apparently they keep rambling about 'cleansing the world' and 'getting rid of the threat'.”

“What do you think about them?” Zach blurted out. Thomas grinned sheepishly.

“I don't think what they are doing is right, but I understand why they are doing it,” he said as he looked into Zach's eyes. “They are just afraid of Spirit Kin, so they try to eliminate them. And they have good reason, didn't you see the damage they can cause? The floods, the fires, the storms, the earthquakes. They pose the biggest threat to the human race.” Thomas shook his head.

“I also agree, that their method of approach isn't good. While the Spirit Kin may be able to cause such havoc, the humans created their own version of destruction too. In other words, they are almost equal in that aspect, no one is right or wrong...” Zach said half-heartedly, hoping Thomas would accept what he said. He resisted the urge to bite back his tongue. Thomas shrugged.

“I suppose so... We humans created them, so now all we can do is take responsibility for our mess.”

“Yeah,” Zach muttered. He glanced over to see the same pink-haired girl leaning on the wall alone.

“I suppose you don't know why she is so sad?”

“Oh, her,” Thomas glanced at her. “I am not too interested, nor do I want to do anything stupid.”

“How is that stupid,” Zach asked as he walked towards her.

“Wait, stop!” Thomas shouted at Zach. “It would be best if you would leave her alone, for the sake of well, yourself.”

“Leaving someone to their misery isn't a speciality of mine,” Zach replied. “I'm going.”

“Idiot,” Thomas muttered under his breath. “Fine, go then. Be the hero, but I'm not cleaning up your mess.”

“Don't worry, there won't be any.” Zach smirked as he approached the girl. She gave no indication that she noticed him. A slight chill went down along Zach's spine.

"Hey," Zach muttered. “Are you alright?”

She looked up at him, making the blue markings appear under her eye.

"It's just that you know, you don't look too happy.”

“Whether or not I'm happy is none of your business,” she silently replied.

“It doesn't have to be, but everyone is entitled to their own happiness. No one should withhold it from you.”

“I'm fine,” she snivelled, a few droplets of tears falling down onto the floor. “Just, go away. Please.”

“No. It bores me looking at you all the time, unmoving from that same place.”

“Please... He will hurt you too.”

“I'm not afraid of him,” Zach replied brashly. The girl lay her head on her knees while the mohawk-guy noticed Zach.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" The guy yelled at Zach.

He shoved Zach into the wall, making Zach gasp for air.

“Don't go near her, understand me, seaweed?”

“Why? Is it her role in life is to be miserable?”

“I said, don't go near her, or I'll smash those tiny brains out of your skull faster than you can beg for mercy.”

“I would doubt that,” Zach replied as he rapidly jabbed the guy's eye. He yelled, loosening his grip on Zach. A foot landed in the guy's stomach, propelling him backwards. A small crowd gathered.

The guy was back on his feet and charging at Zach. His fist landed in Zach's abdomen, whose feet buckled and fall. The guy's foot slammed into Zach's side, making him topple onto the ground. His body ached and begged for him to stop.

“I told you I would smash your brains out,” the guy laughed as he prepared for another attack. Zach spun on the ground, landing his foot into the guy's shins. He gasped as Zach was up and landed a fist into his back. Zach's wrist winced as the guy panted and threw a punch directly into Zach's face. He blocked it, readying for a counter, not noticing the other hand grabbing hold of his shirt and shoving him backwards into the wall.

"You little a*****e, you think can stand up to me, huh?" The guy yelled into Zach's face.

"Beat me up as much as you want," Zach replied with a slight grin. "I bet it wouldn't even accumulate to the amount you did to her."

"You little s**t," he bellowed as he rammed his fist repeatedly into Zach's face and abdomen. Every punch was an electrical impulse to Zach's body, it kept amassing, the pain growing and growing, Zach at the very edge of bellowing out the pain. Instead, he gritted his teeth and prepared for the next impacts. A liquid trickled down his eye, blurring his vision a dark red.

The punches suddenly stopped. Zach opened his eyes to witness the girl holding back the guy's arm. He stared at the girl in dismay.

"Get the hell of me, Ara, I'm not done beating this kid up yet!"

"Of course you aren't," she replied with a slap across his cheek. He staggered backwards, holding the place.

"You-" he managed to say before another slap collided with his face. Tears began drizzling down his red eyes.

"I think it's safe to say I've had enough of you," Ara replied before knocking him down onto the floor. She gripped his shoulders, pulled him up, and struck his stomach with her knee. He cried out as another kick hit his head. The guy was on the floor, rolling around with his red hands curled on his head, wailing.

"Listen up," she whispered into his ear. "I can let you go now, on the condition that you will never show that putrid face of yours here again, or I can stay here for another hour, kicking you until I break my foot. Deal?"

The guy nodded swiftly through sobs. He scrambled up from the ground, looked up at everyone. They were all staring at him with humility. With a loud cry, he charged out of the gate and sprinted down the path.

Zach sat there, dumbfounded. Ara stood up and looked at him. His face was a mess, blood mixed with dirt clung to him like glue. His green hair was stained, and a large part of his clothes were filthy.

"Hey kid," she said. Zach perked up. "Thank you." She smiled warmly at him before turning around. The bell rang and the crowd slowly disappeared.

"Wow, just... Wow. That took guts and stupidity to perform," Thomas said as he approached Zach in disbelief. He wiped away the blood from his vision and smirked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if I was stupid."

"But still, you kicked his a*s. Hard," he laughed.

"Someone had to do it sooner or later, so I just did it and saved everyone the trouble," he said as he stood up and walked towards their class.

"You won't live for too long like that," Thomas chuckled.

"I would doubt that, I can hold my own weight."

"Alright sure, whatever you say hero," Thomas said as he put an arm around Zach and walked forward. "Let's get you to class first."

Shastice gazed around the square. Multiple carts stocked with various foods and artefacts encircled the mosaic-tiled square. A large statue of an angel that spewed water was posing in the centre. It was a long time since she was here, mainly afraid that someone would recognise her. Today however, her sense of security succumbed to hunger and the taste of apples. She snatched a few when the owner glanced away and silently nibbled on them in a dark alleyway. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a lush, green colour hovering in the air. A glance showed her that it was indeed Zach, along with another blonde boy. Zach was slightly limping and his face bruised, his body leaning on the other boy. He was smiling goofily. The other boy let go of him and Zach hobbled on the space before grinning and waving the guy off. He turned around and slowly made his way back home, the two parting ways.

Shastice's immediate reaction was to walk over to Zach, but it faded when she eyed the other boy. It seemed as though two adults with the statutes of matured mammoths were following him. After he was far enough he was grabbed from the behind by the two. They took out a needle and injected the boy with a fluid. His flailing arms slowly stopped, the only part of his body moving was his chest heaving up and down. They both nodded and headed back, one carrying the boy on his back. On their backs, etched in black thread, was a raven with its wings unfolded in an arc and it's head gazing upwards, the beak resembling a short knife. Shastice's eyes widened as she followed them discreetly.

After a while the men stood in front of a large tombstone in a cemetery. Rain started pouring down on them, their clothes dampening. Another duo of men met up with them, these ones carrying a girl with bubblegum-pink hair. They all nodded as one tapped the cross at the far right side of the tombstone. A few seconds later, the tombstone sank underground, revealing a hidden passageway. The men all strode downwards, the tombstone rising back up after they were all gone.

"I wondered where you have left," Zach said as Shastice entered her alley.

"I was hungry, so I went and ate," she replied solemnly, her gaze hesitating.

"Shame, I brought some more sweets for you since you liked it so much." He tried grinning with his bruised lips. He took out more chocolates and handed them over to Shastice.

"Well, if you aren't going to tell me anything else, I'll be on my way."

"Wait," she said. Zach turned around. "That boy with the blonde hair who was holding you up, was he your friend?"

"Yeah..." Zach replied, confused. "Were you stalking me?"

"He was taken away by a group of men, from the Black Raven Brotherhood," she replied, opening the chocolate bar and munching on a piece.

"Wait... No..." Zach stuttered. "What would they want from them? They are just humans, they haven't done anything to him."

"There was a girl too, with pink hair. She was also slumped back on one of them, along with your friend."

Zach cursed. "I'm going after them," he exclaimed as he trudged outside. His knees buckled and leaned onto the wall for support. "They need... My... Help..." He fell down, holding his side while cursing and gasping. Shastice silently gazed at him.

“Shastice” Zach silently muttered, “Please, heal me. They need me... I don't want them to die because of me...”

“So you will kill yourself for them?”

“I... I need to help them.”

“So inexperienced,” Shastice murmured. “Their life is worth no more than yours.”

“And I should just let them die because some half-broken girl told me to let them live?” He spat out, leaning on the wall as he slowly rose up. “We have the power to change other's fates, will we just let it slide by? Let them suffer and die? Yeah right. That's not our purpose in this world, our purpose isn't to sit back and watch others die.” He stared at Shastice.

“I'm going in, I don't want to lead a life of suffering like you have.” He trudged forwards, the steps slow and painful. A palm rested on his shoulder.

“If that will make you open your eyes,” Shastice replied as she turned Zach around and pressed her hands on his abdomen and face. The warmth returned to his body after a while. “I will come with you, you cannot die yet.” Zach nodded as he turned around and let Shastice walk forward.

“This is it?” Zach asked upon reaching the tombstone. The sky darkened with clouds while the wind blew past them. Numerous patches of green grass were scattered throughout, shaded a dim grey from the lack of light. In front of him was the tombstone, reading the life of a noble soldier. Shastice nodded as she tapped the cross. Nothing happened for a while, the tension in Zach's chest intensifying.

A few silent moments passed before the tombstone gave a rattle and slowly descended. The flight of stairs appeared, and Zach gulped nervously. Shastice looked at him concerningly.

“Let's go,” she said.

“Yeah,” Zach muttered as he followed her downwards. Dry dust filled Zach's nostrils as he plunged himself further into the dark catacombs. Light dissipated away after the tombstone rose back up, leaving the two blind.

The lights flickered on soon after, revealing a few men in army suits aiming their arms at them in a long, open room coated in silver.

“Everyone in the parlour, you have a new command. If you see two children running around in here, it is your shove bullets into their bodies on command. Long live the raven,” a metallic sound boomed over their heads. Zach's eyes widened as the men grinned, their fingers on the triggers. Shastice leaped into combat, a spear gripped in her palm. She hurled it into the first man, the tip sinking into the man's chest. Blood poured out as he wheezed out a last breath. The grins of the men's faces fell, replaced by fear, as they all pulled the triggers. Placing her palms on the floor, a thick wall of ice appeared between the two sides. The bullets rammed into the wall, each making crack into the ice. The firing stopped, and Shastice shot out her hand. At that instant, from the wall flew a multitude of knives, all sailing towards the men. They all fell onto the floor in a pool of blood.

Zach stared in bewilderment. Shastice was panting as she fell on her knees. He ran over to her.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Don't worry about me,” Shastice muttered, “Next time, don't stand around looking pretty, fight.” Zach nodded as Shastice rose to her feet. There was a corridor at the far end of the room. Together they sprinted towards it, running into another man dressed in a military suit. Zach set his hand ablaze and rammed it into the man's gut. The man sputtered and slumped for a brief second, giving Zach enough time to slam the sole of his foot into his side. The man propelled backwards, crashing into a wall and leaving a large crack.

“For someone who wants to rid the world of hatred, you sure do a fine job of punching people,” Shastice remarked as she sprinted towards a man and froze his arm.

“Shut up,” Zach replied as he propelled himself forwards and landed a gust of wind into the man's face, knocking him over. “I need to get them back, I don't care about anything else.” Shastice grinned as she ran forwards.

Upon entering another room, they found the two friends bound together. It was dark, and the only thing they saw other than the teenagers were more men with guns pointed directly at them. Zach ignited a fireball in his palm and hurled it at them, their bodies incinerated.

Shastice ran over to the two teenagers and examined them.

“They are fine, just unconscious,” she replied as she placed her palms on their heads. She closed her eyes and soon, both of the teenagers opened theirs.

“Ugh... Head, hurts,” Thomas said through his daze. Zach's face flushed from relief as he saw them both unharmed.

“Is that... You? Kid?” Ara mumbled. A smile spread across his lips as he inched forwards to unbind them. Shastice's eyes suddenly widened as she quickly put out her palms. Ice spread across her body and started to form a wall as loud bangs could be heard from the end of the room. The wall shattered and a bullet slammed into Shastice's stomach, propelling her back into Zach.

Zach's cheek grazed the floor as he fell, blood seeping from the wound. The two lay there as countless soldiers ran in and grabbed them both.

Zach's arms were jerked behind his back, making yell. He gazed forward and his whole body went numb. Thomas' head was drooped down unmoving, a red liquid quickly spreading across his clothes and falling onto the ground. Ara was on the floor and blood poured out from her side, shading her pink hair a dark red.

“I didn't interrupt the party, did I?” A burly voice with a pirate accent bellowed at them. “What am I saying, the party never even started to begin with.” The voice came out in the form of a large, muscled man with a thick black beard on his face. His hair, as thick and black as his beard, was tucked underneath a hat made of leather.

“Boy, you fell for it, and it didn't even take that long either! Why bother planning to send you a message when you will wind up here on your own? Ah, the beauty of life, you get to end it at some point.” He gave a sick, large laugh. Tears began dripping from Zach's eyes down his cheeks as he kept staring at the dead bodies.

“As much as I would love to put the bullets through your body like I did with these two kids, we have a place to escort you and that white hair to.”

Something in Zach cracked. A part of him that he never felt before felt open. It wanted out, it wanted blood. Zach's mind hazed as his vision was filled with a layer of toxic green, filled with red dots indicating each separate body part. He mentally tugged at the bearded man's arm. It quickly came flying off in the separate direction. He yelled as he grabbed his rapidly bleeding stump. Zach focused on the man's interior, and within seconds he exploded. Limbs and organs flew everywhere, everyone panicking. The grip on Zach's arms slackened and Zach turned around. His eyes, a toxic green, pierced the man's gaze before he was cut in half.

Everyone fired at Zach wildly, the bullets never making the journey to him. Quickly, one by one, everyone in the room was on the ground, unmoving, except for Shastice. Her white dress was covered in a thick layer of red, her eyes wide with shock and horror. Zach's breathing became heavier as his vision was blurring out. The energy in his body quickly left him, making him fall on the ground, seeing only black.

A bright light came into focus through Zach's eyelids. He opened them to be found on a bed with white sheets. The room was barren, only four other people with him. Shastice was in a bed next to Zach, his parents sat in front of him with concerned looks on their faces, and an unfamiliar man dressed in a white garment sitting alongside them.

The memories all rushed back to him. He envisioned Thomas' and Ara's lifeless bodies in front of him, blood coming out from them. Nausea built up in him along with the tears in his eyes.

It was my fault they died. I didn't save them...What have I done? What will I do now? They are dead... Dead.

The word echoed in Zach's head as he sobbed silently.

I will never see them again... They are gone, and I failed. I fucked up, and they payed for it.

Tears dripped from Zach's face as he was hugged by his mother.

“You idiot,” she said silently while gripping him tighter.

“I-I failed... I didn't save them and now I'm here alive,” Zach sobbed. “Why, why couldn't I save them?” Zach's eyes reached his father, who only stared down at the ground. The man dressed in white gave a forced cough.

“If you don't mind, I came here to inform you that your son is in the possession of a unique and dangerous power. I strongly recommend he will join us at the Youth Academy of Spirit Kin so that he may learn to control it and prevent harm to himself or anyone else if it gets out of his control.” His father nodded in agreement. The man then turned to Shastice. “As for the girl, are you affiliated with her in any way?”

“No,” Zach's mother replied after leaving Zach.

“Then I shall contact her parents and-”

“She doesn't have any,” Zach interrupted. Shastice nodded slowly. The man sighed.

“Well then, we must take responsibility for her and escort her to the Academy along with your son. Will that be alright?” Everyone nodded in silence. “Then I will leave you until further notice,” the man said as he briskly walked away.

Once he was out, Zach's mother brought her palm towards Zach's face. It stung and Zach's face was abruptly turned.

“You are an idiot, Zach... But,” she said as she looked into his eyes, “You can go far. Those friends you couldn't save today, take it as a lesson. You will witness more of your friends die, but everyone can minimise it.”

Zach's father rose and walked up to him. He patted his head.

“You are as impulsive as I am, aren't you,” he joked meekly. “However, what you have done there couldn't have been avoided. The Black Raven Brotherhood is rising, and you should be there to thwart them. Got it?” Zach nodded slowly, his father giving a small grin. “Alright, I hope for the best in you.” A nurse came in and announced that they must leave. The two rose and with one last glance, went outside.

Zach went silent. His heart was pounding as grief settled in.

“Hey,” Shastice said, “It was your decision wasn't it?” He nodded. “So now... You have a better understanding of the world Zach...”

“I won't thwart them all,” Zach replied through gritted teeth. “They killed my friends, I killed them... It takes only a few seconds to understand that cycle. I won't go down that path, I'm better than them. What happened, happened, and there is no other way around it, I will have to kill.” Tears swelled up in his eyes.

“You said that the point of life wasn't to sit back and watch everyone die before you... It changed, didn't it?”

“No... No more of my friends will die any more because of me. I just... I'm confused,” he replied as he stifled a sob. “I don't know any more... The world is in slowly being ripped apart, piece by piece. I may be weak, and cowardly but... Later though, I would want to see the world in less pieces than it is now.” He gazed into Shastice's grey eyes. “Will you help me with it?”

Author's Note

What do you think of the update to the intro?