Veronica was pissed, why shouldn't she be? For three damn hours she's been trying to get Micha to pick up his god-forsaken phone! THREE HOURS! NOTHING!
She called that smart ass Biren, and holy god did she hate his voice. However, even the main guy who scouts "potential customers" couldn't get a hold of the Flat leaver, so what hope does she ha-
A bag of Big-Helmets' wings and seasoned potato chunks had been lifted by the cashier as he called out, "Order for Adams.". Taking the bag, the girl engaged the cashier in a brief conversation while some of her bandages showed through her shirt and shorts.
Whatever happened last night affected the girl, Teka, more than herself. Veronica could only guess that due to her 'second form' automatically healing ,as Micha would put it: 'status effects', she wasn't as affected as everyone else.
On television, there was a headline: thousands of citizens have fallen asleep. Is there a reason for this?
"Eh everythin' 's fallin' apar'!" an elderly man scoffs as he eats a foot long sandwich that looked almost small in his enlarged hands. He was the only customer aside for the two girls in this local restaurant. "Son'er or later 'tis place will fall, damn 'tat empress."
"Alright gramps, we get it." one of the cooks replied, "quit ruining the vibe?"
"What do you mean?" Teka mumbled before shaking her white and black hair out before directing her eyes to the television pointed at by the man called 'gramps'.
"-In the aftermath of a large discharge of unknown origin at 22:34 hours, several thousand people of all ages fell into what is being classified as 'suspended animation'." the reporter spoke panning over the rows and rows of people in the makeshift clinics that were sleeping soundly like children but clearly had their eyes wide open. "There are a few people who were not as affected and were let free, however there are still several that are stuck as statues, many fear permanently."
"Each 'nd ev'ry r'pot'er ou in de world gonna wanna piece o'this." Gramps sighed as he finished his sandwich. "i can' imagin' how dem protectors 're gonna react to this."
"Yeah." Veronica interjected,"I'm actually wondering because Rhodes would've been on top of this."
'The Rhodes' - the empress's highest rank of knights chosen to receive some of her own immortal power. For something like this, there was little chance that the anti-terrorist ground force would not have been present.
"They ain't coming." The cashier sighed, shaking his head. "with all the shit going on, there ain't no way they can get involved."
"What? Why?" Teka asked, still puzzled by what everyone meant. "Did Wild show up again?"
"Aye." Gramps coughed heavily lifting up a newspaper displaying a picture of a white furred beast-man with a haunting green eyes. "The damn wolf pack got ina' fight las' night. Injured a hella lota dudes."
"Well shit!" Veronica shoutted, finally solving her problem filling her face with vicious anger. "no wonder he's not picking up! That junkie flat leaver!"
"Wow! Kids in trouble!" Gramps laughed, as Teka stared at the other girls' reddened faces. "Ah! youn' love."
It all makes sense now, she saw it.
Micha ,greedy for any power he could get his grubby hands on, follows some suspicious person to wherever Wild was. They fight and cause a huge mess that eventually turns into a huge battle that he uses to cover his escape.
"THAT ASSHOLE!!!!!" the black haired lady yelled in her mind while her hair temporarily turned into black flames before she began furiously typing on her phone "LETS SEE WHOS LAUGHING NOW YOU HOL-"
"FIRE!"
Her vision was then covered by blue foam that smelled like butter.
"Aye lass." the dry voice of the old man sighed beside her "i get ya' boy is a dick n'all, but that don' give ya the right ta' start burnin' things." the man then began to wipe the small amount of anti-fire foam off her head remarking "even my daughter ain' got this much nice hair."
"if only she took care of it." a fish-headed cook laughed.
"Aye ya wanna repeat that, Pete?" Gramps growled menacingly before Veronica grabbed the other girl's hand and walked away from an impending fight. Now in the nearby outdoor eating area the girls overheard the loud argument and laughed as the two men screamed profanities like no other.
"Gebus grandos! That was close!" Teka sighed as she spotted a large amount of foam breaking a window. "What the hell? isn't this supposed to be a high class spot?"
"mainly pick up and go type of place." Veronica shrugged, shaking her hair free of the remnants of blue foam "but I didn't think that it would get that bad between those two."
"You know them?"
"Not important." Veronica sighed, combing her hair with her fingers before pointing at the bag "check if the order is right. i want to know i'm paying for the right stuff,shits expensive y'know."
"Everything's expensive." Teka corrected as she looked at the order receipt stapled to the bag. Every item matched. "Everything looks right, but seriously three double cheeseburgers?"
"What? You get hungry very easily when you spiritualize!" Veronica cried, slightly embarrassed by her apatite. "I know a good place to eat. It'll give us a clear view of the mall jumbotron on north-east seventh."
"don't dodge the question!" Teka roared, her face red as she shouted, but the black haired girl didn't listen and instead began walking towards her destination. "Wait up!"
as they walked,Teka couldn't help but look at the area with a tinge of sadness. a dozen hours prior this area would have been filled with stalls selling various types of goods,now it was almost barren with entire streets filled with people mourning their lost relatives while others were transported to morgues.
the cloudy sky,just the the city now, was so dark. it wouldn't be long before it rained...
XXXXX
"I love you, my baby raindrop."
XXXXX
"I love you too, Pappy." Teka whispered while a tear rolled down her face.
"I didn't want to see that nasty ass bratard!" Teka jumped in fear as she saw Veronica. Her single visible eye filled with anger while black flames rose from her mouth and eye patch. "FUCKKKKKK!"
"What are you talking about?" Teka asked, horrified by the sight before her. "MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY IS YOUR MOUTH ON FIRE?"
"HUH?" Veronica questioned as the flames fizzed into nothingness before furiously moving her head to find the fire. "Fire? I thought I had that under control."
"Under control?" The bi-colored haired girl's face drained of color and a small white orb left her mouth. The idea was so foreign to the cryomancer. The idea that randomly throughout the day your face and body will spontaneously combust on a moment's notice filled her with fear. Think about all the furniture her family lost! "That? that's normal for you?"
"I'm thankful for fire-resistant clothes and furniture." The black haired curse user laughed fondly as recalled the incident of setting her older brother's favorite shirt on fire during an argument, followed by the commotion resulting from her father complaining about the new changes to their house, "Good times."
"Oh, right, that exists." The purple eyed female sighed remembering how industries made hyper resistant furniture to accommodate those whose blessings cause damage or change their bodies. "But they're hella expensive."
"Hell yeah." the curse user nods before pointing at an outdoor dining area on the roof of a building across from the mall."There is where we'll eat, clear view of the double sided billboard they call a T.V."
"Yeah." Teka said halfheartedly before raising an eyebrow curiously. "How can you spiritualize? Did my god give you an aura beast?"
Among the rarest blessings in this world are spiritualization, beastification, and energyfication, which all fall under the category of 'transformation'. Most people do not consider elevating one's body to be part of their toolkit. Spiritualization involves understanding and reflecting on the interconnectedness of everything, leading to peace and clarity. A deeper understanding of the self and the universe is required, not physical activities or material goods.
"Something like that..." Teka trailed off, frightened of offending the other lady who stood silently because of the curiosity of the technique,the feeling of it,the power of the technique, and how to defeat it. Jealousy intertwined itself within her heart, perhaps she could find a way to make it her own,that way she could stand beside her go-
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH-EEEEEEHH
The small siren of the cross guard brought Teka back to reality, while Veronica grabbed the back of her neck firmly before dragging her across the open street. Bringing Teka close to her, the black hired girl looked behind her at a hidden angel. She whispered "keep your voice down and follow my lead." to Teka, the seriousness was only matched by the growing tightness of her grip.
The dual-haired lady felt an overwhelming sensation. Her mind was filled with snowy, mountainous terrain, her skin stung with searing heat-
There's no way that it could be hot! There were endless oceans of white as far as her purple eyes could see, so why was she so hot?
It was her arm,the left one, that was burning hot...
She looked slowly unsure of what she would discover, and her discovery left her in a state of horror.
Laying in a pile of red snow, her arm had been bitten off at the elbow, its red insides giving way to bright white steam. However, what shocked her the most was that someone sniffed her dismembered arm...
Say something!
Grab the arm!
Scream!
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" the world evaporated, becoming a haze that revealed the black clad form of the youngest Faust child with a very concerned look on her face. "You there? You there? Earth to Teka?"
In a voice filled with uncertainty, the girl said, "We have to run..." her legs trembling as her breath became deeper. As if instinctively or voluntarily, her mind began gathering shadows around her. In a matter of seconds the floor of the cramped elevator was filled with darkness slowly consuming her,the purple eyed female from her legs. Further, she bled slightly from the neck and chest due to frost shards cutting her skin and staining them a deep crimson. "We're going to die..."
Veronica felt a sting in her lungs. "Dangerous." was her only thought as she activated her powers causing a winding formation of red sigils around her left arm.
"!@#$%$#@!#$$@#$$#@$$%%^%$#@!@" she intoned in an unknown language very similar to Micha's.
The curse she held now, formed from several cursed runic 'words', would wear off soon, just a few hours...
She wasn't wrong about this? Right?
Bing!
Opening the cramped elevator doors, the dim lights of the lanterns illuminated the room, eradicating the darkness. At its center stood a person with long white hair and piercing red eyes.
Veronica's attention changed, she didn't have to look at the person for her eye, though covered, could see the 'shape' of the person causing her hair to ignite in black flames "MICHA CERVANTES ESPERONICA! YOU FLAT LEAVING ASS!"
XXXXX
As the hidden angel looked into the souls of the three who captured his attention, he scowled from his position below. A total of three souls were present; The first thing they noticed was the dimmest of the three. The light in the soul of the first one was similar to a candle light in the darkness of a stormy night - faint and flickering, yet they knew all too well from experience that just because a soul was 'dim' didn't mean the person was weak.
Because they know that eventually they will be strong, they created a simple spirit to take hold within the host of the soul. It is very difficult to track; the best spy he had because it was so very weak. They were too fascinated by this vessel not to keep track of their growth.
However, the hidden angel repulsed the other two.
As for the second, it was veiled in darkness. The shadows didn't escape the body like those who commit wrong doings but instead were centered in a sphere with spirals in various areas. At the center of these spirals were circles of red symbols organized uniformly.
Having never seen anything like it before, the hidden angel could not judge concretely. However, the over four-hundred poltergeists within their heart and the five demons with them agreed that the soul, and therefore the host, was not to be trifled with.
The third is.....
Such negativity had never been seen by the hidden angel before. He observed in comparison to others with 'the sight', the ability to see the soul, that they were able to see sins in comparison to those with 'the sight'. Sparks of darkness that stood out against the flaming orb's normal bright glow.
As opposed to one orb, the third soul had two. One clear and hollow like a clone, and one broken, for lack of a better word. There were red ropes holding the 'broken' orb together, as if it were a cage. It was surrounded by a ring of translucent darkness that encircled the two orbs that danced lovingly. It was from that 'ring', where the hidden angel sensed the densest amount of negativity they had ever witnessed. This was no ordinary sight - it was a vision of the greatest source of darkness that the angel had ever encountered.
They wanted to know more, they wanted to know what this abnormality was, their personality, goals, and even their blessing...
The sound of heavily vibrating stabbed the hidden angel's ear with malicious intent, knocking them from their trance. The hidden angel opened their eyes, ready to face whatever was coming. But the malicious intent had vanished, replaced with gentle warmth and understanding. The hidden angel knew then that this was their purpose, and the power of their blessing.
The two angels sat silently at the booth for several minutes. The hidden angel occasionally looked upwards at the group of souls until they disappeared, at which point the second hidden angel addressed them.
"Soul shepherd."
"Mother frost."
