The World Exorcised

Slam—!!!

Ian closed the latch without a care for whether it was shut properly or not. He was in a rush to escape whatever it was he'd been warned about.

"Tsk!" He scurried across the street he'd come out of. The latch to the hideout was but a mere sewer plate in plain sight. The street was one not often too busy during daytime hours in the small district known as Sansti.

"Why Sansti District? Why would danger approach such an unknown and shrouded region?" Ian wondered. The district was far off of the main populated regions of the country closer to the Cardinal Nexus HQ in the center. It was not as lost as the outer regions, but no where near the inner regions either. It was perfectly in between it all, in a place nearly forgotten by the rest of the country. Ian looked over his shoulder from the direction he ran. He could see the one hundred people he'd gathered with his ability, stuck and motionless in place, frozen to his control.

"Disposable." He held back the idea of releasing them from their shackles. They weren't much of a revered faction anyways, the Splitters. "All you do anyways are swing around those rusty axes… Wouldn't prove much useful for my future aspirations."

BOOM!!!

A loud resonation could be both heard and felt in the distance.

"What was that?!" Ian felt the ground shake beneath, throwing his sprint off balance. He understood now just how dangerous what is was that approached. Though he had no time to look back and observe. One slight falter, and even he could get lost in the destruction.

"˙ʎlǝʇɐᴉpǝɯɯᴉ ǝʇɐnɔɐʌƎ ˙ʎɐʍ ɹᴉǝɥʇ uo ǝɹɐ ʇsʎlɐʇɐƆ ǝɥʇ puɐ uɹoqʍǝu ǝɥ┴" The enigmatic voice spoke unpleasently.

"I'M TRYING!!!" Ian ran as fast as he could. He ran, and ran, and ran until he could feel his heart pounding across his chest.

"˙pǝƃpnɾ ǝq llɐ llᴉʍ ʎǝɥ┴" The voice nearly whispered, excitedly.

"Judged…?" Ian continued to heave his way out of the district.

"˙ʎɹnʇuǝɔ ʇsɐd ǝɥʇ ɹoɟ ɯǝɥʇ pǝʇᴉɐʍɐ ƃuol sɐɥ ʇɐɥʇ uoᴉʇnqᴉɹʇǝɹ ǝɥʇ ǝʌᴉǝɔǝɹ oʇ ƃuᴉoƃ ǝɹɐ 'ʎɹʇunoɔ sᴉɥʇ uoos puɐ 'uoᴉƃǝɹ sᴉɥʇ ɟo ǝldoǝd ǝɥ┴"

Ian didn't reply, as he didn't understand what the voice was talking to him about.

"˙ɥʇᴉʍ uᴉƃǝq oʇ ʎɥɔɹɐɹǝᴉɥ ǝɥʇ uᴉ ƃuolǝq oʇ ʇᴉɟ ɹǝʌǝu ǝɹǝʍ ʎǝɥʇ 'uoᴉʇnqᴉɹʇǝɹ ǝɥʇ oʇ ʎɐʍɐ ssɐd ʎǝɥʇ puɐ 'pǝpǝǝɔxǝ ǝɹɐ sʇᴉɯᴉl ɹᴉǝɥʇ ɟI ˙ʎɥɔɹɐɹǝᴉɥ ǝɥʇ ƃuoɯɐ ɯǝɥʇ ǝɔɐld oʇ ʎɹɐssǝɔǝu ƃuᴉɹǝɟɟns ǝɥʇ ǝɹnpuǝ ʇsnɯ ʎǝɥʇ ʎɥʍ sᴉ ʇɐɥ┴ ˙ʇǝʎ 'uǝɹplᴉɥɔ ʎɯ ʇou ǝɹɐ ʎǝɥ┴"

Ian was becoming unsettled by the second. "W-What are you talking about?!?"

"˙ʎɥʇɹoʍ ǝɥʇ ɯoɹɟ ʞɐǝʍ ǝɥʇ ʇno ɹǝʇlᴉɟ llɐɥs uǝɹplᴉɥɔ ʎW ˙plɹoʍ ǝɥʇ ɟo ɯsᴉɔɹoxǝ ǝɥʇ sᴉ sᴉɥ┴"

Ian felt his eyes begin to dry, like a sinister heat was compelling it to shrivel.

"˙̸̧̢̛̤̤͆̍̈́͐̑̾̚͜͝͠Ṋ̶͗̈́̑͐̓́̍͝∩̸̱̦̓́͐̔̈́̀̀̈́̕̚͠ɹ ʍoN ˙pǝʌɐs uǝǝq ǝʌɐɥ no⅄ ˙plᴉɥɔ ʎɯ sɐ uoᴉʇᴉsod ɹnoʎ ǝsᴉɐɹdd∀"

Ian felt a controlling shiver spread throughout his body. The adrenaline built from the fear in the moment made him run even faster.

"FUCK!"

He ran far, far away from his place of belonging. Away he ran from his comrades the Sins, like the Sloth he was, forever in turmoil.