THE MAN'S BODY HAD slumped to the floor. Bits and pieces of his head splattered all over the floor, but most of it was on Ary. Numb with shock and pain, the weight she had on her knees gave out. She laid on the floor, feeling the cool air bite her skin and the harsh gravel of cement dig into her skin, but she couldn't find herself to care.
A man committed suicide. Right in front of her. His life... it was gone. He lost the chance to fall in love, to have children, and to grow old and die peacefully, just because of a gun. Why? Ary just wanted to know the reason why he had to do this. Why he had to do it in front of her. Why her? Why me? Tears blurred her vision as she thought of all the other times she was surrounded by death and how it affected her.
She thought of the red-haired and blue-eyed beauty that died for her.
Ary wondered, briefly, if the man in front of her lived a difficult life. Did he have the same troubles I went through?
She choked on her tears, feeling the blood trickle down her skin. All Ary wanted to do was wipe the blood away and remove herself from Earth just for a few hours. With great effort, she attempted to stand and unraveled herself from the curled-ball position she had. There were a chorus of voices and she froze in panic.
"Oh god, did you see his face?" A shriek of giggles followed the feminine voice. "It was absolutely hilarious!"
There was a deep rumble of laughter. "Of course I did, Jenn. Come on, let's go tell the others!" There then was a loud thud of footsteps that only got louder as she approached the spot Ary was at.
She felt her heart thud nervously as she knelt frantically scanning her mind for what to do next. If she stayed here, then Jenn and the boy would automatically blame it on her and she would be accused of murder since her fingerprints were all over his body. She didn't remember if she touched the gun or not, all she remembered was the way his flesh splattered—
Ary forced the unpleasant image away and stumbled to her feet, grabbing the gun on the floor with trembling fingers and then hid beside a large trash can. She held her breath, waiting for the footsteps to fade away, and shut her eyes. She forced the image of the mans body away from her mind and willed that the two teenagers—or adults, she couldn't tell—wouldn't notice a thing.
Seconds later, Ary let out a sigh of relief and wiped her face with the slip of her sleeve. She crawled to her feet and walked back to where the man was, still clutching the gun so tightly that her fingers were numb. Her bottom lip trembled, her heart thudded precariously, and her stomach lurched uncomfortably as she noticed something absolutely alarming.
The body was gone. Vanished. No where to be seen. There were no signs of blood, no signs of any sort of footsteps or indentations of any kind.
Ary choked and felt her vision falter momentarily, as she portended whether she was going insane. A thought flickered inside of her mind and she remembered the gun was still in her hands.
But, she thought, if the gun is in my hands then where did the body go? How is it even possible that the body disappeared in thin air?
"Ary Aragon," A voice thundered, causing her to jump. How did he know my name? "For the sake of your own sanity and my own, please follow me."
She shivered, goosebumps appearing on her skin as she fought to stay calm. She desperately wanted to scream until her voice was raw and her ears rung, but she did not know this man in front of her and what he wanted with her. And so, with a somewhat steady voice, she answered: "Who are you?"
His voice was deep and guttural. "My identity does not concern you. Please accompany me to our destination or else I will be required to use physical force. I do not want to hurt you." 278Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhnH3q8GxF
Fear lingered beneath Ary's skin. "Who do you think you are to be talking to me like that?" Her voice was shaky, yet firm. "I don't know you, not one bit, and you're asking me to come with you to God knows where? I—"
"I sincerely apologize for my friend's behavior," Another man appeared beside Ary, and at this point she felt like fainting. What is happening to me? "Please excuse both of our manners as well. I go by the name of Evans, and the man beside me goes by David. I presume you have many questions... I assure you, they will all be answered, but for now, Ary, I need you to come with us. We will not use any physical force but keep in mind that we did ask you nicely." His tone was friendly and conversational, but underneath it a clear threat was stated—either she came or she would be forced to.
She shivered under his imploring gaze and swallowed the growing lump in her throat. "How do I know I can trust you?"
Evans's hazel eyes gleamed in the moonlight as he rested his hand on her shoulder. "I will guarantee the return to your dorm in time for your next classes." Ary froze, pushing Evans's hand away. Azeroth. She has to be involved with this. I gave her my schedule.
Ary found herself following them as David and Evans began leading the way. She did not know what to expect, following the two unknown men, but they did threaten her with physical force and she did not want to get hurt. Not again... She trembled at the thought. It's better off if I listen and try not to get them mad.
She tried not to think of what happened moments before, and it managed to work until the cool metal of the gun began numbing her skin. It was too cold.
Evans muttered something under his breath before stopping, placing both of his hands on her shoulder. "I almost forgot how sensitive humans are to weather," A small smirk played on his lips. Just as Ary was about to flinch away from his touch, but a few seconds later, a wave of warmth spread through her body and her shivering stopped. It began at her shoulders, where Evans's hands were, down to her arms, then her stomach, thighs, knees, legs and then toes. She was completely warm. The cold did not bother her at all any longer—and it happened in a matter of seconds.
Overwhelmed with shock and confusion, she pushed him away and looked over him with suspicious eyes. He looked normal—he had ordinary hazel eyes, copper hair, and an average figure. She would not think twice in pondering whether he was a family man. Looks can be deceiving, Ary thought, frowning as she slowly stepped backwards.
"Who are you?" Ary's bottom lip trembled. "What are you? How did you do that?" Her questions came out in a whine of sorts. She immediately stopped talking and flushed in embarrassment. He probably thinks I'm stupid. I am stupid for following them!
Evans's smile was soft—David contained a scowl as he spoke. "We need to hurry, you and I both know the council does not like to wait." He rolled his eyes.
"I promise, Ary, you will obtain all the answers you need," Evans smiled. As much as she did not want to admit it, his smile was comforting. He directed his attention to his friend and his smile was gone. "We are almost there, David, I presume?"
He stiffly nodded and began walking at a faster pace. Evans, with a jerk of his head, motioned for Ary to follow. She stayed a comfortable distance behind and fixed her grip on the gun, which was still cool on her skin. They walked through many buildings and steered clear away from roads or any other signs of people. There was no noise, minus the soft crunch of their footsteps and the soft whirl of the wind.
Just as Ary was about to ask if they were there yet, Evans and David stopped walking. The wind became fierce in a matter of seconds. Ary had to squint her eyes to see what was happening in front of her. Leaves began tumbling through the air and the wind became so powerful that she swayed at the blunt and powerful force. She saw a blur―a haze of red and white and black, and then abruptly, the wind died down—everything was clear.
Except for in front of her stood five men dressed in a white gown of sorts, with what seemed to be a blood red cross imprinted near the abdominal area. Beside opposite ends of the cross, two thick lines seemed to be shining and thriving in the moonlight. Ary gaped at the five men, whom she presumed were insane maniacs for messing with her mind.
They have to be playing a trick on me, Ary thought frantically, fingers tightening around the gun. That must be the only reason why. Azeroth played a joke on me and she included all her friends and these weird people to scare the hell out of me, and hired her boyfriend to act out a suicide.
Ary desperately tried to convince herself that the words she was thinking was true, but deep down she knew that it wasn't. Out of the five men standing impeccably, there was one that stood out. He had lengthy silver hair and grey eyes. His skin tone was incredibly pale, his lips were a faint shade of pink, and he had wrinkles near the corner of his eyes and lips. She felt a shiver run down her spine and her heart thud loudly as she stared into his unnatural eyes.
Still gaping at the man, Ary blinked once, twice, thrice, just to make sure that the people in front of her truly were in front of her. She pinched the palm of her hand and nothing changed.
"Ary Aragon," The man's voice was deep, rough, and held a certain amount of weight that she could not fathom. He radiated a distinct aura of authority that was more prominent than the other four men behind him. "Humans are not granted this opportunity. Nevertheless, since you are indeed... different per say, we have decided to grant you three questions with a heavy explanation towards each." Humans?
Ary swallowed. The man was very intimidating. Actually, everyone here is very intimidating.
"I go by the name of Oridor." Without moving, he gestered to the men behind him, which made Ary stare at each of their blank faces in prime fear. They all looked deathly pale. "The men to my left are Jefra and Avant, and to my right are Velok and Sato. We all represent The Council. We also go by the more common name of Prima Shadow. We equally possess a certain amount of abilities that we inherited from our ancestors. From what Evans was describing to me earlier, you most likely have millions of questions. Keep in mind that I will only answer three and let you go."
Ary froze, suddenly sweaty. Oridor was immensely intimidating, and from his powerful speech she knew that he meant business. So, she took his words into consideration and grasped the gun tighter. It was the only solace she had knowing that she was not insane. I know what I saw.
She took a deep breath and forced herself to look into his odd, haunting eyes. "What are you?"
A wry smile formed its way on his expression. "Like stated earlier, Ary, every individual here―the exception being you―has a certain amount of power that can be used to alter the planets. Now, I will explain this to you from the beginning so your questions will not go to waste and you will not be confused even more."
"In this universe, there are four planets: Heaven, Earth, Prima Shadow, and Hell or Purgatory. The first reality is what humans see in Earth―they believe in logic. The second reality is Prima Shadow, and the ability to see and believe in the unknown truth. The third reality is Heaven, the ability to see the good and do only good in everything, and the fourth reality is Hell, where they only do and see evil. I would explain in more detail, but I am on a time limit."
Ary struggled to listen to his words. They sounded incredibly unbelieveable.
Oridor continued. "Some humans are granted with the gift to see a certain portion of the second reality, but they make the mistake of telling others. Doctors usually class them as mentally insane, schizophrenic, those 'diseases' of the like. Now, going back to your question, everyone here, including David and Evans, are beings called cephibions. We are a mixture of demons and angels―good and evil. We balance both sides equally and try to keep it that way. After all, there cannot be good without evil."
Suddenly in awe, Ary's eyes widened. His words held an explanation for those that were mentally insane, but she still couldn't believe his words. "Who was the guy that... that killed himself in front of m-me? And how did he d-disappear?" Her heart lurched in her chest as she recalled his vibrant green eyes.
His eyes ran over hers, making her skin prickle uncomfortably. "Please be aware, Ary, that the information disclosed to you may be a shock to you. I ask you to be open-minded and of course, absolutely calm." Unwillingly, she felt fear build slowly, beginning at the pit of her stomach. It then crawled, agonizingly slow, as the anticipation built for his response.
"Again, since each one of us has a special ability, we use them to balance evil and good―Heaven and Hell. The man that committed suicide in front of you goes by the name of Lucian Gabriel Pierce, descendant from the Devil and God himself. He is the master of deception―aside from the Devil, of course―for all evil and good." Oridor blinked. "Lucian broke a number of rules that allowed the balance between good and evil to become unequal; however, he was apart of the training to become apart of the council after our ruling―he was a cephibion. He had the belief of seeing harmony between good and evil, though he had the temptation of the doing bad and good all the time. Ironic, isn't it?"
Ary did not know what to say. What can I say? She bit her lip.
Oridor continued speaking without a hitch. "Now, one of the biggest sins here in Prima Shadow is to end your life―which fully indicates that you would rather be apart of evil rather than achieving harmony between good and evil like the rest of us. Though we do not know the reason why Lucian did this, the fact is that he committed suicide and now wants to possess you."
She felt her world tilt and her vision darken. She collapsed to the floor, and right before she could succumb to the darkness, she felt Oridor's hand touch her stomach for a few seconds, and she was numb. She didn't feel a thing. Unwillingly, she stood, and paralyzing fear overwhelmed her as she realized that he used his powers on her.
"How―"
"As much as I would like to explain to you how I did this and why it's all happening," He drawled out. "I do have a time limit, and your three questions have been answered. I'm afraid none of us here know why he chose you out of all mortal beings, but it is obvious he is on Hell's side instead of remaining passive. Whenever cephibions die from suicide, their mortal body perishes and disappears. Whereas a cephibion dies from a genuine death, it crumbles into ash and the soul goes to Heaven."
"But―" Ary still had tons of questions she needed answers to. "Why me?"
Oridor's grey eyes twinkled and he grinned. He didn't answer, but the whirlpool of wind returned again that blinded her sight. Eventually her vision became distorted and she was forced to shut her eyes when they began to water. Seconds later―after the harsh wind was gone―she didn't even notice it at first, but she was safely back in her dorm. Void of any harm. The warmth from Evans faded away and the numbness from Oridor was gone the moment she opened her eyes. She collapsed onto her bed, finally succumbing to the darkness and letting it submerge into her soul.
At least Evans kept his promise of bringing me back here, Ary thought tiredly, on the brink of sleep. Imagine how exhausting it would be if I had to walk home after that intense conversation.
She didn't notice that the gun wasn't in her hands anymore.
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