Sol Ka Rouu 001

“When you stop to think about the night, your first thought isn’t the stars in the sky, or the moon’s shining light. 

It’s the darkness. 

It’s the darkness and the eerie quietness it brings. In the dark, you don’t feel safe from the things that can not see you. 

You feel fear…fear from the things you can not see. 

Fear leads to panic. 

Panic leads to desperation. 

Desperation leads to bravado. 

And bravado? 

Well bravado is the reason you entered the night in the first place. Welcome to helplessness, and congrats on your loss.”

~L.L. Sparks

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The creature’s hand descended to Kai’s head. He awaited his end with regrets in his heart and anger even deeper than that place. But, he also felt comfort knowing that he was being appropriately punished for his weakness. As such, he welcomed death’s bony grip around him. Its arms firmly planted around his waist. 

It was strange though… 

Was death’s grip this soft?

Kai opened his eyes and noticed two small arms wrapped around his waist from behind. He turned his head slightly and glimpsed a head of beautiful blonde hair stuck near him. It was her again wasn’t it? Her presence nearly kept him from noticing his surroundings. 

He looked up, and his eyes were immediately taken in awe. The creature’s fist was being held back by a flowing blue field flowing around him and the girl. It swirled around the two of them beautifully and was almost enough to put Kai at ease. 

Almost. 

The bull monstrosity pulled back its fist and slammed against the swirling field again. But the punch lost all force the moment it came into contact with its surface. As drops of the field's face dripped from the creature’s fist, Kai realized what it was. He had stared at it every morning for the past ten years when he walked the sand and looked out from the beach.

The creature became more frustrated. It pounded against the water bubble again and again but the streams just swirled around to disperse the force of its attacks. Just as he felt a hint of safety, suddenly, they watched as the creature’s muscles increased in size. It again grew in stature and more veins protruded on its face, torso and arms.

“Brace yourself,” the girl said from behind him.

The creature slammed against the bubble with both fists. The force rippled around the entire field and something felt different this time.

He didn't remember much after that.

The feeling of being airborne.

The sound of glass breaking.

The cold smudging of wet dirt.

He hazily began to open his eyes. On his first blink he was at the rear of the school. The next, he was outside the fence. Finally, his bearings returned as he was sliding in the grass. Someone had been dragging him, but to where? His head was pounding but he mustered enough energy to shake the person off and stand. Through his blurred vision, he could see the same golden hair from the girl before. He could see her hand reaching towards him. He swatted at it ferociously.

“GET OFF ME!” 

He yelled as his vision began to clear. Her face was concerned she was saying something but the sounds didn’t make sense to him. His body was its limit. He hadn’t been able to do his treatment with the constant mayhem. As his awareness returned, he realized he was at the base of the hill that laid behind the academy. His hearing finally began to catch up with chaos.

“Come…injuries,” were the words he made out from the girl in the next sentence she spoke.

“No time…waiting.” He heard her say between muffled words. She was pointing to the peak of the hill. He looked up and his eyes were met with the blinding light that shone down furiously from behind it. But in front of the blinding glare he could make out three figures. On one end was a male silhouette and on the other was a female. The light completely darkened their frames so he could not identify them. In the middle stood a strange figure in a tattered cloak and hood covering his head obscuring all vision of his face.

Kai balled up both of his fists.

“WHO. ARE. YOU. PEOPLE.”

The three of them stood still. The male silhouette on the end slightly turned his head to the hooded figure in the middle. The hooded person raised both their arms and slowly removed their hood. 

The first thing he saw was a mass of nappy hair neatly pulled back into a large puff. It was a dark skinned boy, not far removed from Kai’s age. His eyes were dull and callous. His face rested in strange, contradicting calm. He wasn’t smiling, nor frowning. It was just empty. He raised one of his arms from below his cloak and stretched it forth down the hill toward Kai. 

Kai’s mother’s words pounded into his mind once more. 

“Reality was their canvas, and enemies moved aside to clear their path. They were known as…”

The dark skinned boy spoke loudly but in a calm tone.

“We are the Saints. And we’ve come to take you with us.”

Before he could respond…

Before he could process his words…

Before he could even blink…

A sharp pain wrung in the back of his neck and he wobbled back and forth. The blonde boy from earlier walked in front of him and stood next to his sister.

“Sorry about this, but you’re slowing us down.”

Kai didn’t even feel his back hit the ground. The last thing he heard while conscious was,

“See you soon, brother.”

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A young Kai sat in the middle of rubble, flames and darkness. He clutched a black book close to his chest and cried amidst the destruction. His tears were short lived however. The soot and ash in the surrounding area were quickly filling his sickly black lungs. As he coughed and wretched violently, his eyes wearily glanced at a figure approaching him through the flames. A young dark-skinned boy approached him calmly. He wore a black T-Shirt and short black pants, but the flames refused to burn him or his clothes as he brushed past them. He came over to the young Kai and crouched in front of him. His face was poised with a sympathetic smile and compassionate eyes. He slowly reached his hand out to the young boy and rested his palm on his head. Kai looked up at him with ash covered cheeks and reddened eyes.

“The world is evil, Kai. Which is why, now more than ever, we must be better.”

He watched as tears flowed down the boy's cheeks passed the corners of his smile.

“Sleep now. I’ll take you away from here. I promise.”

Kai’s bony face slowly relaxed and the words of the young boy put him at ease. As the tension left his body, he fell into a deep slumber.

There was darkness for a time.

Then, the present teenage Kai found himself floating in the midst of the void. A loud knocking sound invaded the space. He couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, but it was somehow all around him. He could hear it well. Urgency without aggression. Someone wanted to reach him. Someone -

*GASP*

He jolted upwards in his bed, coughing and fighting for air. It took several minutes for him to settle and breathe normally again. He sat in bed, again covered in bandages, freshly wrapped. He glanced to his window and saw the night sky looming outside. The star sprinkled sky and the AllBright were as luminous as ever.

“What happened? Why am I here?” He asked himself out loud.

Without warning. images of what happened that day all came flooding back to his mind. His eyes widened and the emotions began to flow through him once more. He quickly grabbed his shirt and made his way to the hallway. 

As he exited his room, he could hear voices downstairs speaking to each other quietly.

“I SAID ABSOLUTELY NOT!”

Or perhaps not. 

He quickly crouched at the top of the stairs and listened in.

Sacclin continued, “Kai is not ready for that world.”

“We’re not dragging him into that world. We’re just taking him from this one.”  The male voice that spoke was unfamiliar to Kai but the next one was not.

“Besides, staying here is no longer an option. Let’s not forget we just finished fighting a Stage 4 and a Stalker. I didn’t even know Stalkers existed in the ITCU! You’re welcome by the way!” That was the blonde boy, Kai was sure.

He heard the creak of the lobby’s oldest chair, meaning Sacclin just sat down.

“You guys…you just couldn’t leave him alone could you? This is not what Mary would have wanted. Even if if what’s K-”

“You can come down now, Kai.”  Another voice interrupted. 

Kai’s face wrenched in confusion that he had been discovered but decided to reveal himself.

The room was filled with so many people. More than the Inn ever saw during this off season. There was Sacclin and the blonde haired boy of course. Then there was an asian boy who appeared slightly older than Kai. He had jet black hair and was objectively quite handsome. He leaned against the far wall with his arms folded wearing a grey sports shirt and sweatpants. 

On the couch sat two people. The first was a beautiful girl, who also appeared a bit older. She appeared to be a mix of eastern a negro in origin with her very light but still somewhat brownish complexion. Most boldly however, she fashioned an unusual hair color. Long dark blue strands were carefully coiled into a hairstyle he had not seen before in Astia. It didn’t appear dyed however, which made him question her origins even more. Her gaze turned to him and she smiled slightly, which made him avert his gaze nervously.

“There’s such a thing as too pretty,” He thought to himself.

Finally, next to the blue haired girl sat the dark-skinned boy. His eyes were as apathetic as on the hill. He was slightly taller than average, but nowhere as tall as the blonde one. He wore a black hoodie with a peculiar design. Three white bands that encircled each arm sleeve that were evenly spaced from each other and one large white circle on the back that was obscured to Kai for the time being. His hair was no longer in a puff but messily spread in an unkempt afro. Kai locked eyes with him.

“You-” he started as he descended the stairs.

“You were there that night…Yo-”

He stumbled slightly, still weak from the day’s events. He felt someone catch him and looked down to see the blonde girl twin looking back at him. He hadn’t noticed her presence, which seemed to be a running theme with these twins.

“Careful, I tended to your injuries but you’ll be weak a while longer,” she told him. He shook her off him and stepped backwards.

“Okay! Cut the nonsense! I’m through with all the mystery and lies!”

He looked around the room at all of them. Sacclin’s face was as tense as could be.

“The Saints? Don’t give me that crap!”

The room remained quiet.

Kai held his head, he could feel how warm it was, even through the bandages. He composed himself and spoke again.

“The Saints are a fairy tale. A story told by my mother to pass the time in our dull lives.” He whipped his head to Sacclin.

“Tell ‘em sir.”

Sacclin dropped his head. Kai stared at him and slowly started to put things together.

“But…if they are lying, why would they be here? Why would you be talking to them so casually…like you know them?”

He stepped back and his back bumped into the counter.

“All these years…Mr. Kim, you…”

“Calm down, and think rationally. You know it’s true Kai. Today you saw a creature that looked like it was out of some mythological story and feats that should be impossible for humans to perform,” The asian boy put forward calmly.

“The Saints are real. We always have been. And we’re here. That is a reality you must accept.”

It was callously put, but it made sense. Kai hated that it made sense. He slammed his hand on the reception counter in anger.

“Regardless, why are you here? Why are you trying to take me from my home?! Why did Jenny have to…Why did Jenny…”

Kai dropped to his knees at the memory of his best friend’s death.

“Jenny. Oh Astia…Jenny’s dead. I couldn’t save her,”  He said to himself quietly, hot tears streaming down his face.

The dark skinned boy got up from the couch. The blue haired girl looked at him with concern as he walked over to Kai. With both arms to his side, he bowed humbly to him and spoke.

“I failed you. It was our responsibility to retrieve you without exposing you or anyone else to harm. But we failed. I can never correct this mistake, but I beg your forgiveness nonetheless.”

His face still lacked any emotion, but Kai could sense sincerity behind his words. He dried his eyes in his shirt sleeve and stood up.

“Whatever you say,” He mumbled.

The room returned to silence as the dark-skinned boy stood up. 

Everyone stared at Kai. Some with concern, some inquisitively. He took a deep breath and then spoke again.

“I think it's time for you to leave. I have no interest in your mystics and such. Get out of PinkShell and leave me be.”

“That’s not an option.” The blonde boy stated from across the room. He was standing in the doorway this entire time, occasionally glancing at the outdoors. Still dressed in the academy uniform, but not brandishing his stupid smile. Kai frowned at him, causing him to raise his hands defensively.

“Sorry I had to rough you up a little, brother. Had to make sure you got out safe.”

Kai opened his mouth to rebuke him, but remembered the jolly idiot he was dealing with and saw no point.

“Anyways,” the boy continued, “You’re being hunted now. There is no home for you here.”

Kai walked straight up to him and gripped both ends of his collar.

“The way I see it, that creature only showed up after YOU appeared. Who could possibly be after a nobody like me?!”

The blonde haired boy glanced over to the others. They all exchanged knowing looks and the dark-skinned boy with the afro spoke up.

“Outside.”

It was the only word he spoke before walking past them both to the porch. Kai released the blonde goof and followed behind.

“Hey…you sure he can handle that?” 

“It’s fine. The Most High is with us.”