*I don't understand…*
"Qen I just can't stand you! You need to leave. Go, Get out of my house!"
*Why get so emotional… when I haven't done anything wrong?*
"I know you can't help it but I don't care! How the hell did he expect me to take care of you all by myself huh? You… you're not even human. You didn't shed a single tear when your father died."
*Why would I? It's not like he was bringing in any money… he hated me. What would anyone care if somebody who didn't even care about them died?*
Tears leapt from her face as she hurled a lamp into the side of his head. It slammed into him, embedding the razor sharp shards into his now bleeding wound. He stumbled backwards, clutching the closest wall while gazing at her with a vacant stare.
"I'd call you a demon… but there'd have to be something behind those eyes. I can't live with something so… empty anymore."
"Okay… Goodbye." He turned away from his now wailing mother without a second glance, opening the door and stepping out without another word.
*I have 462$ Left to my name. Could be eight nights in a motel but I have to factor in food too…* He ran through the calculations as he walked down the dimly lit streets of St. Louis. The ground was freshly wet from the recent downpour, bouncing the orange glow of street lights off the pavement below.
He ran through memories of school and the distance he'd always had to keep from others to retain some sense of normalcy. A strategy he learned after plenty of failed attempts at blending in. He had never held any resentment towards any of them, all his emotions blending together into an industrial grey slug of stagnacy.
"Hey, let me holla at you!" Qen turned his head to the group of men approaching him. His heart skipped a beat. The only emotion he was ever able to feel was fear and he knew when to be afraid.
"Please leave me alone…" He said, picking up his pace past them.
"PLeAsE LeAvE Me AlOoOoNe!" One of the men said tauntingly as they sped up to catch him.
*This is bad. I can't afford to lose my money now, I'll have nowhere left to go. Maybe I can lose them if I-* He tripped as he was lurched back around by one of the men. Sweat leeching into his open wound as he crawled back in tense anticipation.
"Man, get yo lil scary ass up."
"Ain't he the little weird dude from Roosevelt?" The fat one up front squinted his eyes before nodding his head in recognition.
"Yeah, you right. Hol-on. What the hell happened to yo head?" Qen stood up, weighing his options with his hands in his pockets.
*Hopefully being friendly will get me out've this.*
"I got into a fight." The group's eyes widened into a genuine look of surprise.
"I know you lying! Who you be putting hands on, huh?"
"My brother…"
"Damn, that ain't normal dawg! You pipe his girl or something?"
"Sorry but I need to get some… medicine for my head." Qen tried to turn away but was stopped short by an iron grip wrapped around his arm.
"Hol on, I know I ain't seen you in a while but I could've sworn you said it was just you and yo bird back when you was in school. Why you lying?" Qen pulled his arm back but it was pointless, he was caught.
"Me and my mom had a fight, that's it. Can you let me go… dawg?" He felt the grip on his arm tighten.
"Aye, you be beating on yo bird?"
"You must think that's funny, huh? Hitting yo mom. It always be the weird ones who can't keep they hands to themselves."
*This is bad. I can't shake him off.*
"You know what? Lemme hold yo wallet."
"No…" Qen was barely able to keep his footing as his body was launched into a streetlamp, a metallic thud rung out into the night as his head collided with the pole.
*I-I can't see. my vision…blurred.*
"Check his pock-Arrrgh! My eyes!" He stumbled, darting in the opposite direction. Limbs wobbled, his head throbbing as he ran through the night.
*Pop*
His heart sank as he felt the wind of bullets pass by his head. This wasn't just a matter of money anymore, he was running for his life.
His face flooded with the burning warmth of fresh tears as he slammed a trashcan down behind him. His nose filled with the nauseating stench of decaying meat.
*Pop* *Pop*
*Those were even closer than before! If I don't do something… they're gonna kill me... They're really going to kill me!*
It was a strange feeling. He knew that at any moment it could all come to end. A flash of light at the end of a barrel is all it would take but-
*I'm smiling… I'm Smiling! I'm really smiling!"
He turned into the alley way and into the darkness.
*I don't even want to shake them! I could do this all, Damn, DA-*
*Pop*
He fell forward onto the ground as the bullet ripped through his shoulder. He turned, crawling away as the group piled in one after another.
The first kick came like a bolt of lightning shooting into his ribs. The storm soon followed as his adrenaline fought to numb the pain. When it was all said and done, he laid there bloody and bruised with a gun to his head. He wasn't smiling anymore.
"You should've just given me the wallet." He shut his eyes in silent anticipation but the moment never came. What came instead was a fear deeper than he had felt even moments before. This fear was different, this fear was primal, something was indescribably wrong.
"W-who the hell is tha-" Qen Heard two loud thumps as something fell to the ground. It was then that the screaming began. Some closer, some farther, gunshots rang out between panicked shouts and pained cries. He felt the warmth of piss run down his legs as the voices disappeared one by one.
It was only a moment longer before he was left in complete and utter silence.
*I… I can't move. Is it the fear? No, that's not it. It's like deep down I know… Movement is death.*
He opened his eyes and threw up on the spot. Body parts littered the alley way, the leader's head sitting right between his legs with his organs strewn across the ground. Another hung lifelessly against the dumpster, his body nearly torn in two by the apparent impact. Others lay half eaten and unrecognizable. In the middle of it all sat a greenish creature feasting on some freshly acquired bone.
*I don't think it noticed me yet… maybe I can still leave while it's eating.*
As If reading his mind it turned to face him, its featureless head cocked in confusion.
"Hey you?" Qen shuttered as the thing spoke in layered voices. He watched as it extended its long slime laced tongue to him, lapping up the blood from his forehead.
"Are you deaf or somethin? You hear me talking to you!"
"Ye-yes!"
"Great job bringing them into the alley for me! I've had a few dicey encounters with the executioners lately and this is just the boost I needed!" it ripped straight through the bone in a single bite, marrow seeping from the break.
*Maybe It'll let me go…*
He attempted to push himself off the ground but his arms collapsed beneath him.
"Yeah I wouldn't move if I were
you, you're losing a ton of blood. Say, why can't I see your Akino?"
"What?" The creature was on him in a flash. He barely had time to process when he was lifted off the ground.
"Oh I see. You're one of those soulless freaks I've heard about. No wonder why you taste so disgusting. You're just meat and bones. Like a steak with no seasoning." Qen tried in vain to push him off but it was no use. The grip on his throat was unshakable.
"Normally I like to watch the life leave the eyes of the ungifted. But I wonder what'll happen when I take yours? You'd probably just slump over like a doll. Hell, without Akino it probably just fades to black for you. Damn that must suck."
"Wh-what *hack* are you… t-talking about?" It let out an ear piercing laugh.
"Oh yeah, You don't know! What you ungifted call a "soul" is Akino. It crystallizes when you die. It's so damn delicious too. What did you think the afterlife was, fluffy white clouds and a golden gate? With no Akino this is it! The road for you buddy." He could feel his life slipping from him as his vision went dark.
"Goodnight…."
*Thump*
Qen filled his lungs as the grip of the thing fell away. The smell of its rancid blood filling the air, its arm falling to the wet pavement below. Its distorted screams filled the alley as a new figure stood before him.
"Hey kid, you look terrible!" The creature lunged at the man with a rabid ferocity. The man simply batted it away with a halfminded dismissal. It slammed into the wall of an abandoned building nearby sending hundreds of bricks crashing to the ground.
"I'll execute you in a second, right now-" He picked Qen up by the collar of his shirt.
"I need to ask our friend here a couple of questions. Hey, don't you fall asleep on me now. You see this in my hand.
"W-why are you shirtless?"
"Why aren't you huh? Now can you answer my question?" Qen focused his attention on the man's hand, his dark skin stained with the rancid blood of the creature who he assumed was still recovering behind him. He held his fingers up as if holding a small vial or trinket.
"No."
"..." The man raised an eyebrow at him.
"No, as in you won't answer my question or…"
"No, I don't see what you're talking about."
"Hmmm…"
"Can you please… put me down?"
"No. At least, not right now, you're with me." He heaved him onto his shoulder, cracking the pavement as he launched into the night sky.
"You can fly!?"
"No kid! I mean don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly capable of flying but I'm not going too far. Just need to lure our friend down there away from a student of mine. I must've pissed him off pretty damn bad." Qen focused his eyes onto the street below as he watched a massive figure lift a car.
"W-what is it doing?"
"You might wanna duck!"
"What!" The thing shot the car into the air at breakneck speeds straight towards them. He closed his eyes, waiting for the violent collision to come but then he felt the warmth of light caress his skin. He opened his eyes to see a golden mist completely disintegrate the car right before impact, the residual wind whipping his face like a hurricane. They kicked up a torrent mud as he made his landing, turning to face the oncoming behemoth.
"Wanna see something gross?" The man picked up a tiny pebble before entering a pitcher's stance, the creature crushing dumpsters under foot as it made its approach. Its long tongue trailed behind as its teeth grew into jagged needles.
"You executioner scum are always getting in my damn way! I'll turn you into bloody chunks and rip the Akino from your Still, Twitching, Cor-"
"Would you shut-" He raised up his leg and cocked back his arm like a heavy duty Pistol.
"The hell-" He slammed his foot down onto the pavement, shooting his arm forward like a bullet train.
"Up already!" The pebble sped through the air like a shooting star, a golden light trailing behind it like a beam of sunlight. It shot straight through the thing causing it to implode into the wound before shooting out in a rain of rotting viscera.
"I'd have sworn he was trying to wake up the entire city! And he called me scum…" Qen stunned beyond words could only muster up a single word.
"He?"
"Oh yeah, that scumbag was human."
"Can you please, put me down." His voice trembled. He stumbled forward. Clutching a fence as he eyed the man cautiously. After taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he spoke.
"What *huff* the hell *huff* was that?"
"Huh? Where are your manners? What you should have said was thank you."
"What the hell are you talking about!? Answer
my damn question!"
"Kids these days… fine. What you just saw was a Wraith. I'd be happier if I was you. I've never seen an ungifted person survive even a snake level before. Lucky, lucky." He gave him a sly wink.
"Who even are you? How did you… how were you flying and why-"
"*Shhhh* Stop talking. I'm surprised you have this much energy with this much blood loss. Anyway, I'm Atlas and I'm one of the many people who keep guys like that in check. I just so happen to be the best. Unfortunately for you though, you're one of the ones I'm supposed to… you know." He eyed the fresh collection of organs melting into the ground.
"What, why!? I didn't hurt those people! I don't even look anything like that thing!"
"Let me finish. The reason why that Wraith didn't immediately kill you is the same reason why I have to, you're soulless. Not a lick of Akino in your body. Which is exactly why you're so dangerous."
"I don't understand…"
"Akino is your soul and the very code of your being. It's what allowed Picasso to create great works of art, or olympic athletes to win the gold medals. Wraiths were humans who had an innate understanding and ability to sense Akino. Instead of being content with the amount they had, they decided to consume others for strength." He conjured a small ball of golden energy at his finger tip.
"Multiple souls were never meant to inhabit one body, the souls bend, twist and stretch the soul in all kinds of fun funky ways, leading to the monstrosity you had the misfortune of meeting." He twisted the ball into a malformed clump before collapsing it into a golden dust.
"Fortunately that instability makes them easy to detect. Which is exactly why soulless like you are so dangerous. You can gobble up as much Akino as you want and since you have no soul for it to conflict with, it'd be like you never did it at all. You'd be invisible."
"But I've never done that! What gives you the right to kill me for something I've never done!"
"Trust me I understand. It isn't up to me though you see. It's one of those yada yada, tradition, tradition, follow the rules to the T kind deals… Unless…" He cocked his head to the side, hand to his chin.
"Unless what? What could I possibly do for someone like you… it better not be something freaky."
"What? Yuck kid, what kinda adult do you take me for? All I need you to do is answer my question." He grinned, his yellow eyes shining in a dazzling golden splendor.
"Could you eat my soul for me?" Qen shook his head in disbelief.
*Is this guy serious? No, this must be a trick. If I say yes he'll probably kill me on the spot.*
"Why would you ever want that?"
"I can't explain in too much detail, you need to make a decision before my student shows up. If I end up kicking the bucket, no matter how unlikely that is, it will allow anyone to consume my Akino. If a wraith gets to it that could spell the end of the country. Even if they don't, Wraiths will be drawn to wherever they try to store my Akino, there's no telling what they'd do to get their hands on it. While it is forbidden for executioners to consume Akino, you'd be able to do it completely under the radar. You could become one of the strongest executioners in the world, second to me of course. All you have to do is say yes. My student is about to arrive so you better choose quickly."
*I really don't want anything to do with this guy… but if I say no I'm over with. I'll just agree with him for now and sneak away from him after I recover.*
"I… alright, I'll do it."
"Phew, I thought you'd die of blood loss before you made a decision. Though you are looking a little woozy there. Say, before you pass out can you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Say Ahh."
"Ahhhh-*urgh*" He could feel something sharp and warm like melting glass slide past his tongue and into the back of his throat. A taste like rotting meat and vinegar filled his mouth as he felt the shard slice its way down into his stomach. It was excruciating.
"Yikes… sorry buddy, didn't really have time to convince you to eat that, you just had your first human soul, congrats! Oh, you already passed out… guess i'm just talking to myself then huh." Encroaching footsteps broke through the silence as a girl in a school uniform ran into the alley. Her shiny puff balls reflected the light from streetlights, chains rattling as two heavy metal balls lagged behind her.
"Dammit Atlas, did you forget this was supposed to be my training mission! How do you expect me to hone my already excellent skills if you… don't…"
"..."
"Is that guy dead?"
"Nope! Meet the newest member of the phoenix squad!"
"Are you sure he's not dead…"