The grayness that had taken over the sky was roaring with anger. Rain clouds had
begun to circle the city like eagles watching for their prey.
Arthur McCain left his house and decided to walk to work. He lifted his head and took a deep breath.
Seeing the clouds towering over him as if they would soon fling drops of rain
onto his face, he regretted not having taken his car.
He turned into a side street to escape the suffocating feeling and the crowds on the street.
Glenmere was known as a gloomy city. Its overcast skies for most of the year, combined
with its Gothic architecture, created a dismal, oppressive atmosphere. Arthur
loved the city, but sometimes the gloom felt crushnig. Like right now...
As the rain began to fall, his pace quickened. The familiar scent of wet earth
filled his lungs with every breath, tightening his chest. He drew in a sharp gasp and tugged at his collar with an impatient finger.
The heavy humidity pressed down on him, so dense and suffocating it felt as though his lungs might
burst.
At that moment, Arthur slowed his pace, a gnawing unease twisting in his gut. He lifted his head and scanned his surroundings.
Someone — or something — was following him. Given Glenmere's reputation for
crime, he was almost certain his instincts were right. The homeless here would
steal for even a few pennies, and in these deserted backstreets, running into a
pickpocket or two was almost inevitable. Now, Arthur found himself in the heart
of one such sinister street.
He was proud, like any Scotsman. With his massive frame, it was absurd to think he could ever feel shy or uneasy in a narrow
alley. Pickpockets? He wasn't the least bit afraid of their kind. If anyone
tried to rob him, the only thing they'd notice would be the size of his balls.
He was confident enough not to be rattled by some petty pickpocket. Yet suddenly,
his feet felt rooted to the asphalt.
No matter how hard he tried, his legs refused to obey him. Despite every effort,
he couldn't move an inch. His eyes widened as something squeezed his lungs, crushing them like an empty plastic bottle. A sudden chill spread through his body, numbing his senses one by one.
As he lay motionless beneath the drizzle, his body felt stripped of every sense.
Control slipped from his grasp, yet he couldn't even muster a scream. He hung there like a carcass on a butcher's hook, his soul thrashing in silent agony
against the crushing weight in his chest.
He felt himself lifted into the air, horror flooding him as his feet left the ground. Arthur hung suspended, his massive frame weightless and helpless.
Before he could comprehend what was happening, he sensed a presence behind him.
Someone who had seized control of his body, holding him aloft as if he weighed
nothing at all. They weren't a pickpocket, nor a homeless thief. No, they weren't
even human. The only part of their face visible beneath the hood was their
mouth, lips curled into a delighted, inhuman grin.
They turned toward Arthur, raising their wounded arm from beneath the robes. Light
sparked at their fingertips, flaring like lightning as it arced between the injured arm and the Scotsman. In that blinding glow, Arthur's body began to tear apart, his silent agony twisting into a surge of energy powerful enough to
unmake the universe itself.
Arthur couldn't react. First, his legs were wrenched from his body, and the thick,
sickening stench of blood filled the air as the mangled pieces fell to the ground.
Then his arms were torn from his shoulders. Limbs flew through the air, blood gushing from shattered flesh.
He was a literal carcass. His soul's anguished cries ripped through the sky, echoing across the universe. As his body failed to contain it, his once-pure white soul energy began to fade. From that emptiness, a pitch-black darkness, born of pure torment, emerged.
It was finally happening…
What remained of Arthur lay sprawled across the asphalt. The rain, now falling in
torrents, washed the blood away. His fading spirit pointed to only one truth:
the day foretold in the prophecy was drawing near.
The time was coming when they would possess everything created. The balance between heaven and hell trembled; evil surged with all its might.
And now… there was no one left to protect the Creator's children.
Even the creator himself was no longer there.