Chapter 1: A Smile's Embrace

Attention. Attention residents of zone 10. This is the Emergency Alert System reporting a class 8 anomaly in your area. Please seek shelter or evacuate to zones 9 or 11 until further notice. C.A.D and Sentinel Operatives will arrive shortly. Stay safe and may the Harbinger of Light bless us.

The blaring roar of the sirens echoed throughout the city as splashes of puddles echoed beneath their feet. They could hear them roaming the streets, those creatures, but they dared not to look back. The dull thumping of their feet, the sharp snapping of their mandibles, the gurgling croaks that vibrated along the stone walls of the alley. 

"Quick, this way," a girl turned the corner, grabbing a young boy as she led them down another part of the alley.

"Sis…," the boy asked, his clothes covered in dust and grime as he looked back, "where's mom?"

She didn't dare to look at her little brother as she lifted her head up slightly.

"She…she'll meet us at the safe house," she said, trying to cover the lump in her throat, "She'll be there."

She could feel his tiny hand tighten around hers, and that made it all the worse. They just needed to get to the safe house, to get away from this nightmare, and then things would be better again. It wasn't long until they stumbled upon the exit of the alley. She could see the shop in front of them, the bakery their mom had told them to go to in case they were too far from the evacuation points. Pushing their backs against the wall, she poked her head from the alley; there were no monsters in sight.

"Come on," she motioned as they awkwardly stepped out of the alley and hurried across the street.

The sign "Mary's Pastries" was out, and so were the lights as they approached the door. No one was inside, but the building itself seemed untouched. Pulling a key from her pocket, she heard the lock click as she slowly pushed open the door. The two froze and looked at each other with terror as the bell hanging from the door rang. Piercing screeches erupted around the corner of the street as the two dove into the shop and shut the door. Scrambling behind the counter, they held their breaths as they heard the heavy footsteps approach down the street. Taking a quick look, the grotesqueness of the monsters almost made her body want to curl up.

 Decayed and gray, their bodies were like zombies, covered in black and purple crystals that glittered like shining armor. Their faces were covered, a singular large ruby in the middle of their face as thick crystal mandibles stuck out from their jaws. She could feel her body begin to lose feeling as she laid back against the counter. 

Why…why couldn't it have been me. Why did we have to be left here? Why why why?!

"Zeta…are you crying?"

"Huh…?" she reached up to her face.

She hadn't even noticed the tears slipping down her face as she tried to wipe them away.

"Oh this—don't worry Rei, I just got something in my eye," she tried to laugh, cursing herself for letting him see her this way.

"Sis…"

Wrapping his arms around her, she felt his warm embrace around her waist as she glanced at him. Tears filled his eyes, his body trembling.

"Did we…do something wrong," he asked,"why are those things after us?"

She held him close, gently rubbing the top of his head like her mother used to do for the both of them. 

"I don't know Rei," she answered, "but we just need to keep surviving."

She could still feel him shake.

"Do you remember that story I used to tell you, about the heroes of light?"

He sniffled, "Yeah…they had shining armor…glowing weapons of light, and they defeated the darkness."

"But they didn't do it in one day," she said, "it took them a journey, and with that they took each day one day at a time."

 She wiped the tears from his eyes as she lifted her palm in front of him.

"I promise that so long as we live through one day at a time, the next day will bring us a brighter future," she smiled.

A small grin crossed his face as they pressed their palms together, the warmth soothing each other's nerves.

"Well now, what have we here?"

Instinctively, she immediately threw Rei behind her as the two looked up. Hanging above them, a puddle of ink plastered the ceiling as a pair of yellow eyes sat in it. Bubbling and squelching like tar, a hand emerged from the puddle, and then another as they gripped the ceiling and pushed against it. With a sucking pop, a figure landed in front of them as the puddle disappeared. 

It was a girl. A mask of a wolf covered the upper half of her face, its blue and black color matching her dress. Frilly and gothic, it almost looked like she was a normal girl, but she knew that wasn't the case. It was something about those eyes, the way they felt concerningly intense, as if she would get dizzy from staring at them for too long.

"Ah new friends!" the stranger smiled as she skipped lightly towards them.

"St…stay back!" her voice quivered, pulling out her pocket knife.

The girl didn't even bat an eye at the blade as she continued to slowly waltz towards them. The knife in Zeta's hands began to shake, she never tried killing someone before. Would she even be able to, what if this was a mistake? No, she shook her head, this girl wasn't normal, it was either kill or be killed. Steadying the knife with her other hand, she lunged forward while turning her head away, aiming the knife at the stranger's body. It felt like slicing through water as she felt the blade enter the girl's skin. 

The girl cried out. "Wh..why would you do that?" tears sprang in her eyes as her knees hit the floor.

Dark liquid spilled from her mouth as she leaned on the counter gasping, her red eyes dimming as her breath grew heavy before collapsing to the floor.

Zeta stared at the body. She didn't know if she should cry or hurl or both. She just continued to stare in horror as the knife slipped gradually from her hands and clattered to the floor. Did she actually just kill someone? 

"Sis…?" Rei asked, snapping her out of her moment of shock, "is she dead?"

A moment of silence followed as she fumbled to find the words to fix the situation. All she could think was.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"And end scene!"

Jumping back up to her feet with pupils igniting into flames, the girl laughed with joy as she wiped the liquid from her face. The two siblings looked at each other in horror as they watched the girl nonchalantly pull out the knife and toss it to the side. The wound in her chest began to fill back up as her shadow loomed over them

"How fun, no? The drama, the action."

Her eyes glowed as she licked her lips.

"The terror. It's been so long since I've last had playmates."

The sound of loud stomps followed by a shattering crash erupted as the glass from the window rained upon them and the monsters stood before them.

"Bring our two friends with us," the girl ordered the creatures, "we're about to welcome some new…family members."

The creatures screeched in unison as they swiftly tossed the shelves and counters aside. 

"Run Rei!" Zeta shouted as she leapt towards the creatures, swinging her fists at their heads.

They were hard as rocks no doubt as she felt the bones in her hand crunch on impact. 

"Zeta!"

She turned around, watching as the creature grabbed hold of her little brother by the shoulder, tossing him under its arms as it walked out the shop.

"Rei!" 

Before she could chase after her little brother, a hand swooped in to grab her, its tight grasp locking around her waist. Struggling to break free of its rocky, jagged grasp, Zeta could hear the girl laughing at her futile attempt.

"Who…are…you?" she managed to gasp.

"Some call me monster, others like the insufferable Sentinels call me The Fool."

"But seeing as we will be family," her finger touched her lip, "you may call me Alia."

"Ah, what an exhilarating day!" Alia sighed, grinning ear to ear, "Not only is father's dream coming to fruition, but I've also acquired a new big sister and little brother."

Her hand ran down Zeta's face as she pinched her chin, bringing her eyes down to her.

Steaming tears dripped down Zeta's face, her eyes glaring daggers at Alia before remembering the uneasiness she felt looking directly into her eyes. Alia noticed this too.

"Big sis, are you…scared of me?" she asked innocently.

"I-I'm not your sister," she said, continuing to stare at the glistening shards on the floor.

"Maybe not now, but you'll soon be a part of the family."

Zeta could feel the monster's hand clench around the back of her head, forcing her to look straight at the girl. Blue flames ignited in Alia's eyes, like lanterns dancing, as she felt her mind grow heavy. 

"Let go" a soothing voice whispered inside her head "Don't try to resist, let your body succumb to the unity of nihility."

Her hand began to twitch as she felt the unsettling sensation. It was like being dragged under the surface of a cold lake, each second becoming more painful yet numbing by the second. She could hear giggling as a creeping darkness etched itself into her vision, like growing branches. She felt an urge to laugh with those giggles, to smile at the darkness ahead of her. Her forehead began to gleam profusely as she gritted and sucked the air between her teeth. A shade of purple slowly bled from her dark hair, merging into a violet.

"Get…out…of my head!" she grunted, veins bulging from her skin between each excruciating breath.

"Sssh," Alia whispered, resting her hand upon my head, "feel the elation course through your being."

She could feel her mind begin to slip, falling into the madness and its tempting pull. Was this what freedom felt like, this lack of restraint, this power? The nihility, there was something that felt so peaceful about the emptiness. A hollow space where nothing but the void existed. She began to smile at the thought. Was this the elation Alia spoke of? 

*click!*

A hard metallic thump followed by an explosion of light blinded the room as the sound of shots rang out. The hand wrapped around her torso loosened as she fell to the ground, face planting into the rubble. The monsters screeched behind her, rushing forward towards the sound of gunfire as the sound of footsteps entered the building. 

"Grab the girl, we'll cover you!"

She could feel arms lift her gently from the ground as the sound of the bullets whizzed past them. 

"Don't worry, we've got you,"

A comforting sensation suddenly filled her body, like a warm blanket wrapped around her on a cold night. The dark branches slowly began to fade from her sight as she felt her mind becoming clear once more. Lifting her eyes, a young woman's face came into view. A halo rested upon her head, glowing a bright yellow like her eyes. She couldn't tell if she was hallucinating or not, but she swore she saw a pair of feathered wings appear behind the woman..

"R-Rei…" Zeta croaked, "W-where's my brother?"

"I'm sorry, but we need to leave," she said, as the ceiling was replaced with a sky of dark thundering clouds.

Turning the corner, a heavy white truck rolled down the street as it screeched to a halt in front of them. A symbol of an angelic bird was painted on it.

"Come on, let's go!"

Piling into the vehicle, Zeta looked out the window as the building began to collapse, the eyes of Alia watching her from the shadows of the rubble as they drove off.