7.00 AM - Roselline Household

“Archie! Hurry up, you’re gonna miss the train!” 

“Gimme a minute dad! I’m almost done”, i shout back from my room finishing up my hair and make up for the day

Coming down the stairs, running and stumbling, almost falling down. I rushed to the kitchen where my dad just finished wrapping up my lunch for today and ‘Pluto’ took the toast out of the oven. Grabbing my pikachu themed lunch box and a piece of fresh cheese garlic bread toast straight from the pan, I bid him farewell and disappeared through the front door of our house. 

Running as fast as I could to the train station, I managed to catch the 7.15 train before the door closed. Good thing my house is only about ten minutes away from the station.

I live on the outskirts of the metropolitan city of ‘Saeollits’,the capital city of the country ‘Cheola’. So it takes around thirty minutes to get to the city center and then another five minute walk to campus. Today’s schedule is just a mandatory career seminar at the grand hall and I have the rest of the day off. I’m planning to spend it on hanging out back at the training center, maybe earning a new record while at it.

Along the way, I saw people doing their everyday lives together with a magical spirit companion we call “Soulmates” right next to them just like what I saw with dad and Pluto. An astral being that manifests when we reach the age around three to five years old and they’ll stay with us our whole life. Being a supportive partner and friend from day one till the end. 

But it’s different for me, because my soulmate never manifested even after I passed the age of five. Which is an uncommon condition in this day and age of this world.They have quite a nickname for people like me, a ‘soulless’.

Walking up the stairs toward the main lobby, I saw a crowd gather outside the station’s exit. Police cars started coming and circling around the area to clear the crowd as dark light started to surface from the center of it. A “Shadow” has appeared and is beginning to go on a rampage in front of the station. 

“Ow shit…. Why of all the things…. It has to be a shadow…..” , i muttered, while still trying to exit the station carefully and sneakily at that

Now shadows are the exact opposite of soulmates, created from distraught and overflowing negative emotions. It infected the souls from the inside out and cost them to lose their sanity and go berserk. Most of the souls that turn into shadows never return back to how they were before, because the “Vessel” or our body can’t contain the overflowing negative energy and die. 

Living behind the shadow to roam free and cause chaos in the world and create more of themselves by contaminating other soulmates with negative energy. At least that’s the common knowledge we were taught from a young age.

Sometimes I still wonder, what if this whole soul and shadows shenanigans never existed in the first place. Would the world have been different? Would I have fit in better here? and others. I try wiggling through the crowd little by little, finally getting to the side. 

I go straight to the side alley to take a shortcut to campus thinking that there’s only one shadow and that it’s already been taken care of. But b*tch was I wrong, a huge shadow suddenly appeared towering in front of me. I can see sharp teeth and huge claws towering above me. Coming closer and closer as it was about to devour me whole and I screamed, shutting my eyes close. But the attack never came. Though I feel another strong presence coming closer instead.

“You can open your eyes now, i’m not gonna hurt you”, the voice spoke gently

I opened my eyes to a pair of vermillion looking straight at me which startled me a little. They were beautiful and mesmerizing, along with an attractive face and blueish silver hair to complete the package. Standing up, he handed me a hand to help me up which I took unconsciously. 

“You okay?”, he asked

“Ow um…. I’m alright… Thank you”, i answered shyly looking up

He’s so tall, maybe almost 190 centimeters. Wearing a black and red uniform ensemble along with a long white coat that he wears as a cape. Black boots and gloves, he’s a “Harbinger”. A special task force created by the government, specializing to deal with rampaging shadow attacks and anything shadow related. 

They are what you call special gifted people in this world. Being the only group of individuals who can manifest powerful souls with shadow-like combat powers and using them to their advantage. Because regular souls don't have the ability for combat unlike shadows. I heard they don't even reach ten people in total, which means they’re obviously top-tier.

“Glad to hear… um….”, he hesitate 

I looked at him confused. I know that he wanted to ask me something but can’t seem to get his words out. Just as he’s finally going to ask, we were startled by another voice calling out to us,or rather mr. harbinger over here.

“Regulus!  If everything all clear, let’s get back to base”, another man in a harbinger uniform called out to the silver-haired man

“Roger that!..”, the man answer back

He didn’t continue, just giving one last glance and left just like that. Leaving me to myself in that alley like nothing ever happened. The shadow that went on a rampage has been dealt with in a blink of an eye and everything went back to normal like nothing ever happend. Expected of a Harbinger officer.

“Hmm…… what was that all about?”, i said to myself while looking at my phone

“OW SHIT I’M LATE!!”, as i starts running towards the campus grand hall

-To be Continued