Souls x Reapers

Chapter 1 | Destined Reaper

                Skyscrapers stood tall reaching the dark gray sky, as rain fell like the fountain of sorrow in cold wet bliss. The sound of water gushing through the small canal, as droplets hit the metal roof. Footsteps running, with him carries a bag in red with stripes of green. He quickly opens his bag looking and reaching through his books. “Sigh, I thought my things got wet,” He said in relief. An old woman saw him through the window of the café. She opens the door and calls him to take an umbrella from one of the lost and found on his left side. “No it's ok mam, there’s no need, I can wait for the rain to pass”, He said to the old woman in a friendly manner. “No, please do take it, it is ok. I’m more worried for you young man” She replies. He turns to face her with curiosity in his face. “If I may ask, why is that?” The old woman responds, “The Bridge ahead where you are crossing my dear closes when the water is too high on the road. You should go home early before you have the time. So that’s why I want you to take that umbrella and go home early” She said while pointing through the umbrella.

               He turns around to look at the sky, the rain seems to never end. Water seems to overflow in the canal, as water crawls into the cemented road. The old woman was right, if he was going to cross the bridge, he would have to go walk across a flooded section of the road going through the bridge. He has no choice, but to use the umbrella. “Thank you, mam, I will return the umbrella once I pass-through-“as he turns towards the old woman to give his thanks, she disappeared without a trace as if she was never there. Confused, he looks around the café to see if she was still around. He passes across a leaving customer and asked if there was any old woman that may have come here. “No, I haven’t seen any old woman here” The customer replied and left. He took the umbrella regardless and walked towards the home. On the pathway, there was a newly under-constructed building taking place ahead. The sound of metal echoes through the building, as the rain above hits the crane. A bunch of thugs was messing around with the metal rods from the 4th floor of the building. “Guys, what do you think if I throw this thing off the building, would it make a loud sound or a soft sound?”, Said one of the members of the thugs. “Of course you dumb ass, it’s a metal pole. Also, we are here to gather some supplies for weapons, not play around”, Said another thug. They quickly gathered some material and put them in a bag. One Metal pole was kicked accidentally by one of the members and falls off the building. The pole hit multiple sets of metal down below. “You idiot, I told you to be careful!” The leader of the thugs slapped one of the people on the head. But something was off, there wasn’t any sound that was heard when the metal pole hit the ground. They came into the ledge of the building to check down below.

               They freaked out when they saw a young man lying on the ground, with his umbrella torn from the outside with the metal pole poking from it. “Fucking hell, you just killed a person!” The leader of the thugs shouts in fear. “Shit, I didn’t mean to kill anybody, it was an accident!!!” the thug replied. They quickly ran downstairs to check the person. Blood pours through his gaping wound as the gushing water caries the blood down deeper the away from the blood. The young man stares blankly into the sky as rain touched his body, His clothes are drenched in water and blood leaks out from his head. “What happened, I was just walking and then something hit my head“, He asked himself while trying to process what had happened. “Is this the end, after all those times I tried to live in this world, trying to live as best as I can, this is how the world rewards me?” he thought to himself as his vision grows blurry. Looking from above, he saw a glimpse of the thugs from one of the buildings while on his dying breath. There he felt something, a Spark of red emerged from his heart, maybe it was anger that was swelling. But it’s wasn’t coming from him mentally, it was deep within his soul, aching for revenge. “I will kill you” A voice in his head shouted. He tries to move, and calls for help but can’t. “I feel numb, I can’t feel my body,” He said to himself. He was losing too much blood, there was not much time left. He was dying slowly in the cold wet cemented path. The rain felt like soft fingertips touching his face. It was getting dark; he was passing away. Meanwhile, the thugs run towards the person with their bags full of metal rods parts. “Shit, you killed him!” Said one of the thugs. “Come on let’s leave this place before anyone sees us!” The leader ordered the members to run away as possible. They ran and ran until they were nowhere to be seen.

               A Being emerges from under the bridge, dressed in and black robe with a scythe in his hand walked towards the lifeless body of a young man. “I pity your young one, for you have not foreseen your end” He spoke gently. It grabs the scythe and waves it above its head, ready to strike something. He saw a vengeful spirit inside of him swelling, aching for revenge. But he paused for a moment and saw that there was potential in him, something special about him made the being withdrew his weapon. A glimpse of the future is what it saw. “I will give you another chance to live,” He said to the lifeless body in the ground. The being took out a book and murmured words that cannot be understood. The rain suddenly stopped mid-air and started to float upwards into the sky. Light pierces through the sky illuminating him. An unforeseen force makes him float, water slowly arising from the ground as the air around got denser and denser. “And I renounce thee, you Arthur as the reaper of the souls of the lost, null and evil, Arise!”, The being shouted while closing the book. His body and soul separated.

Inside Arthur’s mind, it was all dark and cold. Nothing could be seen from miles, only the darkness surrounds him. “Arthur open your eyes”, a voice calls him from the darkness. “Who are you, where am I?”, Confused and scared, he asked the unknown voice. “Be not afraid young one, for I am nothing but a guidance of souls and the bringer of balance“. The voice replied to Arthur. He opens his eyes to see a being in a robe in black with a scythe in his hand and a floating book. He screamed as he tries to run away but to no avail. “Who the heck are you, wait… why am I floating!!!”. He asked in terror. “Whoa, calm down, geez I just gave you a second chance to live, and this is what you give thanks to me”, The being spoke. He turned around to look at the unknown being right before him and asked who he was.

               “Who are you, please, I don’t know what’s going on,” Arthur asked. “Sigh, didn’t I tell you already, like I said; I am nothing but a guidance of souls and the bringer of balance” The being answered Arthur while grabbing its weapon. They both stared awkwardly at each other. He tries to break the silence by asking why it saved him. The being replied that there was potential deep within, and the future that resides into his hands, for both the spiritual world and the material world. He wasn’t sure of what he meant by the spiritual world and material world. The cold atmosphere surrounds both of them as a thick fog emerges from the shadows. “Listen carefully, Arthur you are a grim reaper, the harvester, the guider, and the destroyer of evil. You young one, have been chosen as a new renounced reaper of this world, Rejoice for the being of balance chose you to be a destined reaper”, The being told Arthur while looking at his eyes. “Last question, what is your name?” Asking seriously.

               “My name is a Harmore, but some of my fellow reapers call me Mia”. She replied to him in a flirty manner. “Wait you’re a girl!? I didn’t know” Arthur was shocked. “Of course, you dummy I’m wearing these robes to hide my identity”, She said. They both looked at each other awkwardly again before Arthur falls off the ground. “Oh yeah, by the way, I recommend you not looking behind, I know that your weak seeing like blood and all that”, she cautiously told Arthur. “Wait how did you know that-“Arthur tries to ask but she cuts him off replying to him, “why? It’s because we the readers know, I don’t know it’s kind of like our abilities too, also we should leave immediately. As much as I love for us to chitchat, we should move ahead, this place is dangerous, I advise for us to move ahead”. Mia told Arthur while she starts walking down the dark tunnel. “W-wait up where are we going, also I have to get my stuff first” Arthur shouts. Mia snaps her finger and a bag appeared right before him whiles he was running towards her. “Oh, thank you”. Both of them walked towards the dark tunnel as the fog cloaks the surrounding area.

               Raindrops started to fall downwards again, with somber a somber melody in the distance. The echoes of cars and rain soon filled the air with life again. The remnants of Arthur’s blood, puddled into the ground mixed with rainwater. A shadow loomed into the scene shadowing a dog. A foot of a creature steps in anger cracks the ground, approaching the puddle of blood. It sniffed and growled as it looks directly into the tunnel. A reddish fog appears from behind the creatures snarling jaws, as the wall crack with darkness. Ten pair of eyes glimmer from the fog as more of those creatures looks from the distance hungry and angry.