Just as Alexander stepped outside the hall, he scanned the area for Blessing and saw her standing in the distance.He also saw some students talking to her but from how bashful and uncomfortable she looked, he could tell that the conversation being had was something she didn’t want to talk about. “Hey, Ble—“ Alexander called out, raising his hand to get her attention but was interrupted.“Alexander”Alexander stopped and groaned after hearing his name.He turned in the direction he had heard the voice come from, already knowing who it was because he recognized the voice. After all, it hadn’t been more than an hour since he last heard it.“Princess” Alexander said after looking at her from head to toe, wondering what she wanted. She was leaning on the wall of the exam hall, legs crossed and arms behind her back.“So you remembered my name after hearing me tell it to the invigilator” she smiled.“I have a really good memory so remembering wasn’t a challenge. Also, it’s an easy name to
{Breaking news! My name is Roland Knight with The Bull's Horn News and I bring you report on yet another case of the alarming, Shadow Loss Fever. This marks the eighth case in the last month of this mysterious outbreak and our victim this time goes by the name of Alexander Mark. Mr. Mark is a veteran military general from the town of Star-Crest, where this report is being made, and sadly, he now joins a lineup of personnel who suffer from the dreadful Shadow Loss Fever, a strange phenomenon where one's shadow just ups and vani—}"Yeah right… Another day another dreadful story on the TV. I wonder if there's ever going to be something interesting that'll make me stop thinking about how shitty this place is" Said Avery Reed, rolling his eyes as he put the TV on mute.Avery was manning the counter of a convenience store where he works full time.["I don't know, Ave. Star-Crest is the neighboring town from ours so I'm not sure how to feel about an outbreak being so close. Maybe you should
A vein on the gang leader's forehead popped and throbbed."Bastard!" The gang leader swung far back with his bat and was about to strike Avery when one of his men leaned closer to his ear to say something."Hey boss, I think there's something you should know," said the gang member, causing the leader to halt his impending strike."What?!" The leader of the gang glared down at his follower and asked aggressively.The gang member whispered "Boss, you know how interested I am in the combat sports scene, so much so that I know strong hitters that aren't even in the mainstream yet—""So?! Get to the fucking point or I'll take out my frustration on you next after treating this loser's fuck up!" said the leader of the gang angrily."Sure boss. Well, what I'm trying to say is that there was a very promising young blood in the boxing scene that was projected to be the next world best if his career continued the way it was supposed to. Unfortunately, life happened and his career came to an earl
Although mentally frozen as a result of the shocking turn of events, Avery's years of boxing training kicked in and like somebody whose limbs had been taken captive by an attachment of puppet strings, his body acted on its own.With lightning-fast reflexes, Avery's arms swung over his head and then further behind, using the momentum to lean backward into a limbo-like position. To maintain balance so as not to fall over, his left hand grabbed onto the door frame while his right hand supported his weight on the floor, effectively keeping his upper body parallel to it.It was after his body had gotten in this position on its own, being low enough to see his sister's disfigured body diving over him and not being able to touch a single piece of fabric on his skin or hair on his head that Avery came back to his senses.Cassandra landed a few meters away in the living room and Avery who still couldn't make sense of what was going on quickly flashed back to what he saw whilst in limbo underne
Cassandra made more incoherent sounds which although had no actual grammatical meaning, it was obvious that she was longing to be reunited with her shadow, and with the way the shadow gradually glided back to both her and Avery on the ground, it was clear that it wanted the same thing, to return to its owner.Seeing this unbelievable scenario unfold right in front of his eyes, Avery still couldn't allow himself to believe that any of this was happening.Just like with the news of the Shadow Loss Fever, he has always been someone with a cynical mindset, and that very crude way of thinking was now his coping mechanism in dealing with such an outlandish situation he found himself.For a second after Cassandra's shadow started gliding towards them, Avery thought that maybe one of the gangsters from the convenience store had hit him in the head so hard that he was now suffering from a concussion.'Am I lying on the floor somewhere in the convenience store, bleeding out from a head injury?'
The hooded figure stood upright, a sense of triumph in his demeanor as he placed his right foot firmly on Avery's chest. He applied an increasing pressure, watching Avery's struggles for breath intensify as the ominous symptoms of the Shadow Loss Fever began to take hold of his body.Avery's once familiar grayish-blue irises were rapidly changing as the sclera, the white part of his eyes, started to vanish. His pupils dilated beyond normal boundaries, expanding to consume his irises entirely. Within minutes, his eyes would mirror those of his sister and the other victims of the Shadow Loss Fever – utterly black.His skin grew progressively paler with each passing second, while internally, he felt his very sense of self slipping away. Yet, amid these disorienting physical transformations, Avery remained resolute in his newfound singular focus – reuniting with his shadow confined within the canister and liberating Cassandra from her affliction."MarROW PuLSe aRRange SeVEN SeVENTh ToNe,"
The previously hooded figure ignored Avery's hate-filled words and instead tried to pull the canister away from him. From his body language, even he had gotten desperate and couldn't care less for Avery right now.All he wanted was his device back but Avery who was equally as and maybe even more desperate resisted.The previously hooded figure's grip was weaker than usual but still strong enough considering the damage he sustained from the fall. On the other hand, Avery's fingers which lackadaisically followed the instructions sent by his brain were losing in the contest of grip strength."F-fucking let free!" Avery exclaimed with bullets of saliva shooting out his mouth, his sentences getting harder to construct properly as the Shadow Loss Fever was doing more and more damage to his body.To be able to contend, Avery quickly tried using his other hand to assist but the previously hooded figure wasn't just going to allow that.With his other hand, the previously hooded figure raised it
After a quick assessment which caused a grim look to appear on the man's face, he said "My god, you're in such a terrible state. Were you caught up in the crash?""Honey, I think we need to call the ambulance—" the lady who looked really worried for Avery said but was interrupted when Avery coughed and started panting."Avery!" The man yelled as he rushed to help Avery.Avery was confused at first because his vision was starting to come back but then he saw who was next to him and he said "Mr. Prince, it is you and…your wife? What is two of you do here?"Mr. Prince and his wife looked at each other skeptically, wondering why Avery's grammar had gotten so poor all of a sudden but then they ignored it and focused back on Avery who they were more worried about than anything else."We saw what you did through the security camera footage sent to my phone. Not everyone would risk their safety to protect the shop from those hooligans so because of that we came to thank you while we were in th
Just as Alexander stepped outside the hall, he scanned the area for Blessing and saw her standing in the distance.He also saw some students talking to her but from how bashful and uncomfortable she looked, he could tell that the conversation being had was something she didn’t want to talk about. “Hey, Ble—“ Alexander called out, raising his hand to get her attention but was interrupted.“Alexander”Alexander stopped and groaned after hearing his name.He turned in the direction he had heard the voice come from, already knowing who it was because he recognized the voice. After all, it hadn’t been more than an hour since he last heard it.“Princess” Alexander said after looking at her from head to toe, wondering what she wanted. She was leaning on the wall of the exam hall, legs crossed and arms behind her back.“So you remembered my name after hearing me tell it to the invigilator” she smiled.“I have a really good memory so remembering wasn’t a challenge. Also, it’s an easy name to
(“Crystal? What crystal is he talking about? And Foci? What the hell is that supposed to be? Is it like a title or something?”) Avery asked himself and then placed his hand on his chin.(“Hmm, does the Crystal he was talking about have anything to do with the gemstone on my forehead? But wait, Shieve also talked about crushing crystal so it should be something different from the gem on my forehead, right? Speaking of gemstones, I wonder what this thing on my forehead is all about. I think I remember a time I didn’t have it so when did it get stuck on my head and why can’t I pull it off?”) Avery asked himself as from underneath his hair he pulled on the gemstone on his forehead.It didn’t budge.He stopped messing with the jewelry when he looked at Vox and his friends being carried out of the premises by Centshuu, Ripply, Kove, Mosey, and then Shieve who was only confident because Avery had physically and mentally crippled them.Vox was trying to say something but Centshuu who was the
All he and everyone else wanted to see was the other side of Vox’s head. The part that used to be on the floor and covered in the blood.Now that his friends had helped him sit up, everyone who was at the right angle could see what the condition of that part of Vox’s head was.With the amount of blood that had leaked from his body, if the wound was on that side of his head then it could only be seen as a miracle that he wasn’t dead yet.Emphasis on yet.“So all that blood is from his mouth and not a broken skull. That’s good.” Centshuu commented.After confirming, Centshuu smirked and looked at Avery.“See that, Ave. The bastard is fine— well, as fine as he can be after that punch. It could have been worse but the thing to note is that it isn’t so you’re good. Nobody died and you’re not a murderer so chill” Centshuu said.After seeing that Vox was alive and also hearing Centshuu’s words of reassurance, Avery finally calmed down.“You see. Don’t go getting carried away again and most i
“What are you waiting for? Aren’t you guys going to do something to help him? Do I have to ask for the people he calls his friends to help him again like last time?” Kenser said in a panic.Centshuu looked at her and then furrowed his eyebrows. “It’s you, bargirl. If I remember correctly, all of this started because the pug wanted to stand up for you” Centshuu said then turned to Avery who was sinking deeper into insanity.“Don’t you dare put this on me! This happened because Avery tried to protect you and everyone knows it. If you guys hadn’t carelessly stepped closer to these guys and antagonized them the way you did then Avery wouldn’t have had to step in and protect you. Doing something that might—“ Kenser said, looked at Vox and looked at Avery then swallowed her words. She didn’t want to say that Vox was dead because she didn’t know if hearing that would worsen Avery’s condition.“It’s my fault, huh?” Centshuu said and Kenser jolted She quickly covered her mouth. She realize
*BAM*The sound of Vox’s arrogant ass uniting with the hard waxed floor of the Velvet Serpent’s main hall reverberated in everyone’s ears. A sound only heard because the onstage live performance had halted the moment Bell made her appearance and kicked Vox and his friend out of her establishment. After all the training they’ve received, none of the girls could do something as disrespectful as continuing their performance, risking the possibility of stealing attention from the madam as she enforced her sovereignty and reprimanded the leader of some disrespectful guests.The same leader who got taught a lesson he would never forget by the young man from another world, adorned in tattered clothes and a borrowed jacket.The force Avery had punched Vox with not only sent him on a crash course between the cold hard floor and his rear end but, after the first impact, the momentum gained from the punch remained, causing the victim to skid a few feet backward until his back also met the floor
During the moment that Ripply warned Vox, Mikie, Fez, Kief, and Graham, to leave the Velvet Serpent peacefully or face expulsion and Vox reacted negatively by clenching his fists and vibrating with rage, causing his friends to fear for what he was going to do, Avery had gotten himself distracted.His mind was enthralled, pondering the truth of the decision made between Centshuu and Ripply and why it was so important that Centshuu felt it necessary to bring it up at that moment.For a moment, Avery took his eyes away from his recent adversaries and lowered his head to contemplate the intriguing topic.In those fleeting seconds of looking at the floor, Vox turned around, pretended to heed Ripply’s warning, and walked away. (‘Hmm. I wonder if when I become a part of the squad like Centshuu eluded to, would I be able to get the answer about the decision Ripply made between the both of—‘) Avery's thought halted when he noticed something from the corner of his eyes.Vox discreetly reached
These were all things they wondered about that caused their hearts to pound, and their fear wouldn’t subside until Vox finally acted./“Alright. I guess we’ll leave like the bitch wants”\ Vox replied, shocking but also relieving his friends who became happy, thinking that he cared more about them than his ego and pride.Centshuu, maintaining his poker face asked “What did he say, Ripply?”“The fuck leader of the fuck crew said they’d take their leave” Ripply answered.Centshuu grunted with concern. “I’m guessing he said more than that or else you wouldn’t still be this angry.”“Yeah. The bastard keeps testing my patience” Ripply replied.“Did he insult Bell or me?” Centshuu asked, knowing well that that was the only thing that would get Ripply angry enough to act and speak how he is now.“He did alright. He called her a bitch… to my face” Immediately and for a moment, Centshuu who had been keeping his cool, poker face and all, had a chip in his amour.His anger slipped right through
/“….you have until the count of five to get whatever trash-water nonsense you came here with. Once that’s done, you have half that time to discharge from the premises or else get thrown out. We won’t warn you a second time”\ Ripply declared.By the side, Makieth who was surprised to hear such brashness come from a calm-looking individual like Ripply couldn’t help when her mouth gapped unknowingly. On the other hand, Bell who had known Ripply for the longest smiled./It’s unbecoming for a lady as beautiful as yourself to look so lost. Correct yourself”\ Bell said as she helped Makieth close her mouth then went back to crossing both arms. “Still as foul-mouthed as always huh, Ripply. For a second there, I was starting to think that your time abroad had domesticated you too much but I guess I was wrong” Bell monologued, staring at Ripply with nostalgic eyes. Mosey discreetly glanced at Kove, the only one among them who might have understood exactly what Ripply said. “Do you think he d
Vox grimaced as he tried to remember what he had said about her and then like a bolt of lightning, it came to him./“You not only called me names in front of my workers and other guests but you also voiced your insulting assumptions of what I was doing in privacy with those two gentlemen. Your associate also insulted one of my girls which is the same thing as insulting me so Mr. VOX, tell me if there’s anything I’m missing”\ Vox cleared his throat /“Madam Bell, I accept to saying all that but I did so in the heat of the moment—“\ he said but was cut off again./“Mr. Vox, I’ll do you and your associates all the favor of clearing the amount you would have paid for the damage done to my establishment. Think of it as a final showcase of appreciation for your patronage so far but I won’t repeat myself. You and your associates should escort yourselves from the premises or else be forced out”\ Bell said, the anger in her voice becoming more apparent. Vox looked around where they were then