Rhaen Vauxhall [2]

"Die!"

I ran straight at him, heart pounding like it was trying to break out of my chest. My muscles tensed, and for some reason, the colors around me seemed too bright as every sound was sharper than it should've been. I could even hear the crows flapping their wings above.

But none of it mattered.

I didn't care how strong he was, or what he could do with that strange, telekinesis-like power of his. I just wanted him gone. I wanted him to hurt like I hurt.

So I threw my whole body into the punch.

My fists throbbed with pain as it landed on his spine, but he didn't even flinch and simply turned around before flicking a finger in the air.

In the next instant, I was flung backward like I weighed nothing. The air left my lungs before I could scream and my back hit the ground hard enough that stars exploded in my vision.

Groaning, I rolled into my side and forced myself up with trembling arms. Blood pooled in my mouth, and I spat it to the side.

"Die!" I shouted again, rushing straight at him for the second time.

I knew I wasn't usually this reckless. I wasn't someone who charged in blindly. I had always been careful and that's how I survived on days where a single wrong step could mean never getting back up.

But grief has a way of digging into your chest and tearing all that apart. And I guess… maybe it was true that when something hurts you bad enough, your brain doesn't always get to be in charge anymore.

The man knocked me back with a flick of his fingers again, and my ears rang as I hit the wall. 

Nonetheless, I still stood back up. I didn't know if it was because of a phenomena called 'adrenaline rush' but I couldn't feel any pain despite the blood dripping from my nose.

"DIE!"

Every time I got close, he swatted me away like it was nothing.

"Die... Die... Die..."

Even when my legs gave out and I had to crawl. Even when my fists wouldn't clench anymore. Even when all I could do was drag myself across the ground, I still…

"Ah, fuck!" the man with a chain necklace exclaimed, raising both of his hands and two dented generators tore themselves from the wall. "This is getting pretty fucking annoying!"

The man dressed in black looked at me one more time, with that same calmness in his eyes before turning around, clearly accepting the fact that there was no other choice left for me. 

On both sides, two pieces of dented generators hovered in the air as the man with a chain necklace spread his hands like a showman.

"Hey, ya know what happens next?" the man asked, before clapping his hands together. "Baam!" 

I closed my eyes.

The world faded, and all that remained was the Tower who watched me suffer my whole life.

I begged for something to happen like a flicker of power, a hint of a Gift, or anything that might mean I hadn't been completely forsaken. I thought, maybe if I was close enough to dying, the Tower would finally look my way and grant me a gift.

But it didn't.

Opening my eyes, the same blue translucent window floated above my wrist.

|| Name: Rhaen Vauxhall ||

|| Gift: None ||

"Fuck you."

I said not to the man in front of me, but to the goddamn Tower that abandoned me.

Rumble! Rum—

The two generators moved in perfect sync, lunging at me from both sides like twin jaws ready to crush me between them. I didn't have the strength to dodge. My legs were heavy, and my body was slower than my thoughts. 

I braced myself for the impact, arms half-raised, knowing it wouldn't matter and that they would hit me and that would be the end of it.

But.

They never hit.

Schkk—!

Instead, a soft sound reached my ears. It was not loud nor explosive, but just a faint tearing noise like someone slowly ripped a page from a book. 

It was so quiet it almost didn't belong in the moment, and yet, somehow, it was the only thing I heard.

The man in front of me blinked and his grin faltered and then, as if the world had forgotten how to move fast, his head tilted unnaturally to the side as slow as possible, and his neck followed.

A fine, clean red line traced across his throat— thin at first like a scratch, then widening as it opened before blooming like a petal.

Thud!

The man wearing a chain necklace crumpled to the ground, gargling something wet that never formed into words as the generators slammed to the ground beside me, dead weight without their puppeteer.

And before I noticed it, the other man dressed in black was already mid-punch aimed at me, his skin was all black like a black metal covered it altogether, and his eyes widened from realization that he might have overlooked the fact of me being a 'gifted,' and I was the one who killed his companion.

But then again, before the punch could hit me, a curved blade appeared just an inch away from my face and blocked the punch, though the impact sent a wave of air that blew my hair and the wall behind me cracked like a spiderweb.

"It's you!" the man said, looking above my head, preparing to throw another punch. 

However.

Before the man could even move, the scythe carved its way forward and split the man's body into two in a clean manner from crutch to head, blood splashing on my face.

"W-What…?"

— "Hey, Mister. Up here~"

A voice whispered from above. Looking up, a face that was too close appeared, grinning upside down just inches from mine.

A girl.

Her legs were hooked around a massive, floating scythe. Inked tattoos peeked out beneath the hem of her oversized shirt, dancing slightly with every shift of her weight.

She flipped down effortlessly, landing light on her feet.

Then, as if she hadn't just cleaved two men in half, she brushed off nonexistent dust from her sleeves and slung the scythe over her back.

— "Nice to meet ya! Name's Necraia, a Grim Reaper~"

I didn't even blink.

While I thought it was real as my body still trembled from the near-death that didn't happen and from the sight of those two men being cut down like they were made of paper. Even then, I still couldn't bring myself to believe her.

A Grim Reaper?

She said it with a grin and a tilt of the head like she was offering me candy.

— "Oh ho! No reaction? I am Death, y'know? The one and only~!"

I stood back up without realizing, trembling as I walked towards Mr. Graycat's body.

My hand grazed the alley wall. I could still feel the texture of my blood on my chin and neck, and could still feel the ache in my ribs and my back.

She twirled her scythe like a baton, then casually perched on it mid-air one more time, floating like gravity was more of a suggestion than a law.

"...What do you want?" I asked.

Her eyes sparkled as she flicked a lock of hair from her face and grinned.

— "You."

"..."

Right after, she dropped from the scythe and landed with a soundless tap before she walked towards me, stopping so close I could see the silver thread of a thin tattoo running from her collarbone down to the inside of her wrist before poking my forehead with one finger.

— "How about a deal?"

I paused.

— "Trade a few years of your lifespan. In return, you get the right to climb. Sounds like a fair trade, doesn't it?"

A laugh almost escaped my lips.

I wouldn't dare to believe a girl, despite the fact that she really did save my life, killed those two men with a grin on her face, let alone accept the deal she offered.

Step.

I kept walking. One hand on my ribs, the other pressed against the bullet graze of the guard on my forearm where pain bloomed now like fire even though it hadn't hurt before.

Even if I said yes, even if I gave up ten years, twenty, or perhaps everything, what would it matter? The Tower would chew me up and spit me out before I reached the next floor, given the fact that I have no gift, and she only said 'the right to climb' on her deal.

Still, she kept talking behind me.

— "C'mon, Mister~! You're already abandoned. Might as well gamble what's left, right?"

I stopped again because somehow, those words hit harder than the beatings earlier ever did. Turning around, I opened my mouth to speak only for her to lean forward with a grin and interrupted me.

— "So if you accept my deal, you could…"

I walked away.

Necraia blinked, stunned, as she watched me go. I didn't see it, but I'm sure her mouth hung slightly open as if she couldn't process what had just happened based on her voice, saying…

— "W–Wait, did he just… h–he ignored me?!"