Child`s Play

Before he can cry in the face of his leader, and make himself an even greater fool, he leaves the Lapse. Alone in the open, white courtyard, he began to tear up. However, as he was quick to learn, he wasn’t alone.

— Hmm…

Someone was sitting down, legs and arms crossed. This girl was caressing her chin, in deep, profound, and abyssal thought — philosophical thought, if you would.

— Kruger died, died too… I guess this might be tougher than it seemed.

She spikes up, standing before the Lapse on her own. She was a small, malnourished, and grey skinned child. She seemed frail but bared the withering skull of a large goat demon on her back, which carried over her head, covering her hair, and made her seem more monstrous. She had vicious yellow and pink eyes and many metallic stakes piercing her chest and shoulders. She only wore golden bracelets and a stained white robe to cover her legs. She also had strange, accursed markings tattooed around her womb and bellybutton. She always wore a sharp shark-like smile.

— Welp! Time to do the dirty, dirty work!

Her name was Vitrolica. The Anti-Human of Illness.

And the crying Imperium bumped into her.

— Ah… — Vitrolica and Imperium get completely stunned by one another.

“I thought I was alone! Can’t I even act like myself in peace! Why did they have to see me like that! Stop staring at me with that stupid open mouth of yours! Please!!” — They both think.

He had just arrived at the courtyard, when he saw that sassy lost child laughing like a maniac to herself. And Vitrolica felt as if she was caught in the act. But Imperium also wasn’t expecting to see anybody else outside, when so many people were worried about the Kruger Incident.

— YOU DIDN’T SEE, SEE ANYTHING!! — Vitrolica runs up to him.

— Yeah! No! I didn’t —

— A-NY-THING!!! — She shouts right up to his face.

— Okay…

They were the same height. But then Imperium had a better look at her. And saw something rather inappropriate. Vitrolica only wore clothes to cover her legs. Although her figure was very frail and thin, and although she had some disturbing metallic stakes piercing her shoulders and torso, nothing covered her nipples.

— WHY ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE THAT?! — He said, incredibly flustered.

— WHY ARE YOU STARRING AT ME, ME?! — She yells back, also flustered.

— WHY ARE YOU SO PIERCED?! — He notices those painful looking nails.

— WHY IS YOUR HAIR SO, SO CUTE?! — She notes his pink and blue colors.

Imperium gets taken back by the question. With him stopping on his tracks, she notices that his eyes were also blue and pink. Vitrolica then shuts up, mildly defeated. His eyes were, factually, much cuter than hers. She then tears a line out her white robes and ties it around her flat chest to cover up.

— Good god, god man…

— Sorry…

There was a little staircase between the courtyard and the entrance to The Lapse and that’s where they sat together. With proper distancing between them, of course.

— I didn’t mean to yell. You caught me off guard. — Imperium apologizes.

— Hmph! As if I’d believe, believe you. — She turns the other way.

— Yeah, you’re right…

Vitrolica takes an obvious peak at the kid. His lively colors didn’t suit such down and out personality. And although that bothered her, that did not mean she cared about him.

— Maybe you should, should go somewhere nice. You don’t seem to like it here.

— No, this place is great… It’s just that… I’m not.

— What, what a way to torture yourself.

— Says you… — Imperium turns to face her, concerned. — Are you actually okay? Those things are really going through you…

— What? These? Oh, it was my older brother who put these on me, me.

— Your brother? That doesn’t seem very nice of him.

— How dare, dare you! Ejo is a great, great big brother.

— If you say so… You don’t seem bothered. They don’t hurt you?

— Nope, nope, not at all.

Imperium had another look at her.

“She’s so strange looking. Her eyes are different colors too. The stakes, the tattoos. And I don’t know if I want to ask about that crucified skeleton she’s wearing on her back. Could she be…”

— I’ve never seen you around here. Are you new?

— It’s my first time, time here. I think I’m in the right place.

“Ah, so she’s a Searcher too. I shouldn’t have judged her looks. Maybe they all have to do with her VSS. I can tell she’s quite strong just being next to her. And her brother is probably another powerful Searcher too. They belong here. How…”

— …Lucky.

— Hmm? — She turns to him.

Imperium blushes, embarrassed and angry at himself for admitting such a lie. He did not know her upbringing. And a lot of information could be gathered by her figure. She seemed quite the disturbed person, even with that cheery personality. And Imperium, above all others, was the luckiest Searcher. He had a rich home, great parents, and even greater allies. His power is absurdly fierce, and given the fact that he is young, his growth potential was borderline infinite.

— I didn’t mean that. — He hides his expression.

That was an awful thing to say. Vitrolica stays quiet. Imperium ruined everything again. Like he always does. Clicking his tongue, he gets up and walks away. If he continued trading words with that girl, he would make things go from worse to terrible, without a shadow of a doubt.

— Vitrolica! — She yells.

The boy turns back, slightly teary-eyed.

— My name is Vitrolica. — She crossed her arms. — What’s yours?

— Imp — Atticus. — He nodded to himself. — I’m Atticus.

Vitrolica smiled. But it was a different type of smile. First of all, she showed no teeth. And her sharp teeth smile was a scary sight. No, this was a soothing smile, slightly excited yet extremely natural. Despite everything else, she seemed like a normal girl just then.

— Atticus, Atticus! Wanna hang out?

— What?

The two kids spend the next six hours moving and playing around the first depth. Surprisingly enough, it never occurred to Vitrolica that she had a job to do. And it never occurred to Atticus that she was one of the four Anti-Humans. The kids stopped bothering with such things, five minutes after they started hanging out together.

— And what else can you, you do?

— Well…

In the yellow and orange woods, Atticus looks for a large rock. Stumbling upon a boulder ten times his size, he prepares himself to show off. He sets his right arm forward, ready to snap his fingers. And to keep it steady, he uses the same position he felt comfortable with. Using his left arm to hold onto the right.

— I can add rotation to things.

Snapping his fingers, a center part of the stone spun, breaking apart the surface. Eventually, the bits that were carefully selected by Atticus were accelerated so hard, they spun into dust. Finally, a figure could be seen inside the boulder that had been carved out. It was a statue of Vitrolica. Or at the very least a poor attempt at one.

— I’m still not very good at it. — He blushes.

— Hmm… — Vitrolica analyses what should be a stone statue of herself.

Atticus was unsure of how he should treat a girl his age, since he hadn’t been to school in years. So, he was a little unsure if that was a nice gesture. It felt weird admitting it, but he considered Vitrolica a dear friend, even if they had met hours ago. Before making it clear that it was ugly and disgusting, Vitrolica punches the statue. And with surprising and astonishing power, crumbles the whole thing.

— Ah… — His heart shatters a little. — If you say so —

Putting herself in the statue's place, Vitrolica poses intensely.

— The real, real deal is way better! Don’t ya think? — She smiles.

But Vitrolica restored his heart, and it was now stronger than ever. Love, is one hell of a sickness. And behind a mountain of growing insecurities, Atticus could not know that she too, thought fondly of him. He hoped she did, but never learned the truth.

— Yeah… — Atticus couldn’t hide his beaming smile.

— Come on, on man! Let’s bug hunt! — She grabs him by the hand and runs off.