Grey Clouds

"What's petrichor"? Tyair asked confused.

"Oh, my slow, slow, fellow, let your dear older brother enlighten you". Joseph said smugly while grinning with his nose pointed towards the ceiling.

"Shut up and just tell me what it is weirdo", sighed Tyair jokingly asking the creator why he had to be his brother. Tyair's parents were friends with Joseph's through their fathers, after the death of Tyair's parents at age 10, the Thompsons were more than happy to adopt him.

"Petrichor is what the air smells like before and after rain or a big storm", Joseph explained. 

"Oh, I know, see if you can make it rain", he further asked seriously, while trying to hide his smirk.

"I would but, I just so happen to be out of one's", Tyair laughed.

"But give me a second, bout to get my shit", Tyair walked into his room leaving a laughing Joseph who yelled, "Ones are beneath me anyway".

Tyair quickly thew on all black cargo joggers, a black hoodie with 'But they not me', in white letters on the back, and a pair of white slides. Tyair proceeded to walk around the room collecting the things he cherished in a book bag, placing the necklace that belonged to his late mother on his neck, a photo of him and Joseph at their first UFC match, his 3 favorite hoodies, and other essentials as well as sensitive information regarding his identity in his bag.

Tyair walked to the foot of his bed and pulled out a 127cm x 20cm black wooden case, carved from dark ebony with deep swirling patterns wrapping around it like vines, and a strap that slings over his shoulder Tyair is finally ready to leave.

Walking out the door Tyair spots Joseph pacing in the hallway while messing with his phone and cursing. "What's wrong"

"I can't get in touch with our parents, and I can't get a Wi-Fi connection either, if you're done grabbing everything then it's time to move".

With urgency they made their way towards the front door of their condo apartment, stepping out into the hallway they ran into the only other people on the floor. A nice Asian couple, that moved into this place a month ago, the guy seemed chill, but the woman came off a little cold.

"Hey, glad you guys are alright after that earthquake", Kenshiro greeted with a nod and his laid demeanor. Kenshiro is a Japanese male with pitch black hair and eyes, strong angular jaw line, and a well-toned but not overly big physique; his wife Mia is an Asian American female with pitch black hair and eyes an oval face, and a slim body type with a stern disposition.

"Did either of you pass out during the earthquake?" Mia asked after giving them a slight wave, and eyes that seemed to demand an answer.

"Hey Ken, c'mon man you know we're to tuff for a slight wobble to bother us". Joseph boasted withe a wide grin while giving ken a fist bump.

"Yea I did, did either of you". Tyair asked with an equally questioning gaze.

"We both did". Ken answered shaking his head with a smile at his wife's demeanor, after all, it's why they got married.

"Did either of you get really strong like Ty", Joseph beamed.

"We both did, but we also discovered that we got much more than just physical strength", Mia explained, but before she can get another word out...

..."BOOM called it, I knew it had to be something more to this!". Joseph's voice boomed across the small hallway startling the group.

After giving his brother, a look that was anything but nice, "What else did you discover?", Ty asked giving them his full attention.

An unsettling energy quickly filled up the hallway, Mia slowly stretched out her palm facing upwards, concentration etching her features as she materialized a breathtaking book with archaic symbols of unknown origin doting its surface. It was wrapped in what appeared to be some kind of brown leather with gold accents on its spine in the shape of screaming faces. The book was 16 x 22cm, standard size for a book; but if u stare long enough it feels as though it's getting bigger and bigger in your vision.

'What is wrong with that book', Ty questioned while trying to reel his mind back from the dark whispers of the tome.

Looking over at his brother Ty sighed, 'This idiot'

*Whack

"Ow! Hey that hurt asshole", Joseph yelled holding the back of his head with a pained look.

"Little do you know, I've saved your life" Ty said in a mysterious way.

Ignoring the confused Joseph, Ty re-focused his attention on the book hovering over Mia's palm. "How are you doing that?" he asked completely astonished at Mia's gravity defying book with the weird presence.

"Well, the book is floating on its own, I can grab it but when I let it go it stays suspended in the air and just follows me around".

Hearing Mia's explanation, Ty couldn't help but inwardly hope he got something just as cool, his inner weeb screaming with delight at the prospect of getting superpowers, to be able to fly around at Mach speed, or conjure a ball of fire in his hand. Ty to put it bluntly, was an adrenaline junky on the extreme scale, if you name an extreme stunt, he's probably already done it once, or attempted too, his favorites being parkour, free running, and skydiving.

"I got it, it's a book but what kind, can it do anything else?" Joseph questioned after recollecting himself.

Ken, being the smart man he is, promptly took two steps to the side to not get caught in what's about to happen.

"When I passed out, I was in what looked like a dead landscape for as far as my eyes could see, no sun, no moon, no life, not even bones were anywhere in my vision".

"The only thing that was there, was a sky in perpetual darkness, and a man standing ahead of me, he didn't say much, just reached into what might've been robes but honestly I'm not sure; when I try to remember my head hurts", She said seeming a little shaken about it.

"And pulled out this book and handed it to me, the moment I touched it I felt pain like no other course through me and collapsed but before I blacked out, he told me its name", she paused, getting chills remembering the sound of his voice.

"Grimoire of the Damned"

At the mere mention of its name, the book released a small pulse of energy causing its many black symbols to glow briefly in a dull light.

Mia opened the 10-page book to the first page, and spoke the unfamiliar words like they were a second language.

"Spectral Bind"

Almost instantly a black magic circle appeared over the book, and 3 wailings rushed from its depths, ethereal specters covered in darkness charged at Ty and Joseph at breakneck speed. Ty with his newly enhanced body sidestepped the 2-ghost causing them to dissipate upon contact with the wall.

Joseph on the other hand wasn't so lucky even with his combat experience he still failed to react to the speed of the ghost, immediately becoming constricted as the ghost rushed into his body; not possessing him but keeping his muscles and ligaments locked in place stopping movement.

Even though Joseph couldn't move, he didn't panic, not out of lack of fear but because all he felt now was excitement, even with his body not complying he couldn't help that beaming smile from forming on his face.

"Why are you smiling right now u crazy person", Ty said shaking his head with a smile equally as large.

Mia released her hold on Joseph, black energy rising from his body like steam after a long workout.

Joseph, now surging with glee, said to Ken with contagious excitement, "Wait she said "we", did you get superpowers too ken"?

Ken said nothing, just slowly uncrossed his arms and gave a smile equaling Joseph's, then, his transformation began. His hands flexing, ken started growing a noticeable pace, his muscles rippling underneath his skin gaining more mass, blood red scales started forming on different parts of his body like armored plates, partially covering his neck and chest, and enveloping his arms and legs stopping just beneath his elbow and knee joints.

Now standing 192cm tall with hair as dark as blood and eyes to match, not to mention the 7cm talons he has attached to his scaley hands, Ken looked like a deadly monster waiting to be unleashed on the world.

Joseph being the brother that was side-eyed Ty.

"They both have something cool it's no way in hell u don't, concentrate just see if u can make something happen", he asked with an expectant gaze.

Without answering, Tyair slowly relaxed himself, inhaling a breath to calm his raging heartbeat. He thought back to what he saw in his vision, darkness, with bright tendrils of blue energy passing through them with.

The moment he exhaled, dark grey cumulus started billowing out of him rushing to every corner of the hallway, effectively blinding everyone inside.