Worlds shone in purest of light, left no place for shadows. Reflective satellites such as any moons and otherworldly floating objects are obliterate. It is only one or the other, a void of all sight based light .
There are no surfaces to have anything to rise, nothing can hide under any pebbles, rubble or skull.
Many worlds were simply empty, devoid of the local dwellers or even travellers. Any gateways to these places demolition, cutting away the places they could hide.
A double edge weapon of war, innocent souls lost by the countless actions. The assumed enemy also were innocence to the slaughter. It had weakened them to the extent of loosing their title, powers and ranks. Many half, demi and low ranking gods were wiped clean with the culture they are from.
What has to be the worse is the reflection humanity makes to excuse this loss. When gods war, as do humans.
It obvious what had happened... what weapons could leave a carbon shadow in the floor of where innocent people stood.
Yes it was war. A war across the Internet.
Due to changes made to protect all of society from each other, bored fingers started typing into dark websites.
It started put due to a sway of several different illnesses and then completely took a turn for more worse things. When normal people had enough of being locked in. Deprived of basics rights, accessibility to needs and shut down of anything that could have fixed the problems better.
Those people were many on talents, they had potentials for making it better. Down the rabbit hole they fell instead and at the cost of being collect home grown extremist. Being softly whispered by months of pretend friendships.
Three nuclear power plants later... and war was then assumed by blame pointing at other countries. Hot headed were the ones whom were unfit for their places of power. Pressing buttons too.
The few whom survived had found saviours in unknown people of magic and mythical belief. Although, these saviours were cultist at truth. Not all of those jumped at the chance of being protected by weirdos. Secretive freaks as they say, can't blame them. Mages did hide then help.
The few gods that still were strong had changed the rules... bent them because they realise there was allowances. Ghost god figures were able to be glimpsed and seen to be miracles in unnatural ways.
To few protecting hands of the dust specks humanity became, found truth that the enemy they thought that started this are the most despaired humans in deaths fingers. It took the least godly being of their powered ranks. This is whom still managed to exist without any being believed by the known universe. He had to explain whom were the real causes and what he planned to do to make things smoother. Thankfully no one wants war, none of them were interested in making more losses.
It were a causal sit around a dusty place out around nowhere, away from radiation ash clouds and natural disasters of freak active weather patterns. It were cold out there, snow or ashes... none were going to test it. It would be pointless.
"Anyone else want a pint or a Juice?" Cheery and without the gloom, it was celebration without a need for a reason to be assumed. Although, it was better to toast a drink to the memories of good people whom can't be there.
"I dont like drinking alcohol. Let alone from total strangers." The kid was much different looking without that military black leather coat. His natural hair being blue hue instead of total black. The only thing that wasn't to be changed or removed was a small Ruby ring on his smallest finger. It paired with the companion whom couldn't be made living.
His freind was most a total ghost in natural form. He did remove the coat to reveal that his normal clothing looked like a musical comprise from the 1800. The pink hair was tamer, being more silvery pink. Clearly older and always thoughtful of his words and how he acts. He chooses often to be a odd ball, almost like Raven. There is always a false thin smile. A habit most notable had to be his left hand holding his right wrist. In long observing, he never uses the right hand either.
These two were on breakfast bar styled seats, with forced offered drinks put into their hands. The child has been forced into eating by this point, and it was only acceptable due to it being prepared in front of him.
"You should thank my brother for what his done for you. Even now, he prevents everyone from mistreating you." Pulled the tap down with a angled glass capturing the fizzing purple fermented liquid. Cold as it should be from the cellar underneath, warmer then the snow out there. The many windows have been patched up and every effort to keep it warm in here was made. It could be mistaken as prevention of these two escaping.
"So... where exactly are we?" Riddle asks with eyeing a loose window board, his mind was on escape since being here.
"If you want to go look... leave even. Just don't freeze to death. The god of death is gone... my brother has enough hassle." The kid is unsure and Riddle doesn't want to believe this teenager. Weaponless teenager. Everyone else had weapons to fight creatures of melted flesh. Could mistaken this place for hell... if his partner wasn't deactivate in power.
"You're scared of more then just facing the one you wish to betray. You have a fear of letting someone down." Riddle jumps his seat with the cat of metal talking at him. He thought it was just a decoration in this tacky smelly pub.
"Hey, don't be doing that to them!" The teen made the cat flatten ears. This silvery body stood up and moved to face the child.
"Confused of not just being thrown in the deep end by your own partner. You assumed you were just normal like every else. Thrown into the afterlife before you even dead. Being told you have responsibility that you didn't ask for. You see the bad choose of ignoring it all thrice." The cat jumps out of the way by landing on Riddle, "I am the syth of final judgement. My purpose is to weigh you souls burdens and categories you. He asked me to inform you two of danger... that those you already know are coming for you. You especially, A Riddle. Your boss wants your head. What a angry soul she is. A fool too. To hot blooded, hard set in one systems and to... what would you call it?" the tail sways with some force, Riddle can hear the breeze past his ear from it missing his head. He stays very still, as the weigh of the cat was crushing his shoulders without actually moving him in force.
"You look like a cat." The kid plucks the syth being from his partners head. That weigh was gone and held no manner over the child, "You're actually quite weightless."
"No... is that you have no soul burdens." The cat fights out of the grip, sitting on the counter, "Anyway, if you want to leave us. Make sure to not die in the nuclear waste out there or freeze. Because of what truthful happened. Its left nothing good out there." Narrows at the door. The breeze out there howls angered.
"I hated it... how empty it becames. Buildings like this pub left to become raided rotten frames." A sad shake, "I wish this never happened. No one wanted this, no soul has ever been this fallen. Even demons and angels are working with what is left of them... together. It is like pigs flying." The counter is left a indent.
"Forgive me... I am just sad. I can only continued to cling to hope my partner will figure it all out. Clean it all away." A mournful meow that followed. The kid is a brave, picking the being up and petting it better, "You remind me of those used to look after... many past kings and queens. Not like your time. Just folks of magic that held responsibility to protect the many from bias." Sean purrs a little a small and short lived, "Such good days."
"That is very interesting... Our universe relies on a king or queen too." Riddle continues to be doubtful.
"I am sure its not the same. Myself, most of my family and all of our islands people use energy gathering techniques. In creating a flow of energy like blood in our veins. We use our mind to bend the rules, create actions otherwise impossible by others. At the beginning, we were few in number and grown less when other countries across the world claimed us as witchcraft cults. The strongest of energy flow was elected as king or queen. It really could have been anyone. As things moved on, as did the method of working out who was next. Many assassinations..."
"Wait, were in the land of the living?" the kid exclaimed.
"You are in the wrong time space... or to put it in your understanding. A alternative universe or world." The metal cat looks at something and it had to be knocked off the table. He continued with four other drink coasters. Riddle agrees with this, it was obvious from how the powers were inactive on the kid. Them not making any excuses or lies had put some thought to Riddle... his unsure but with changing plans.
"To me, the both of you are just outsiders from the beyond." The few sips of a drink, "I didnt know there was other living realms out there. My brother is a stickler for following rules to a fault." It makes young king think, "I guess he does make a good temporary king if the rest of us die. But then... I guess he be king of radioactive zombies and snow ash." Goes refilling the drink again, "His already dead so that can't be a problem."
"So your a king and this brother is... this cat's partner?" Riddle pulling things together, now that he is bothered about the conversation. He was worried that it was a trick to mind wash the kid.
"King of Mages, the inherenter of past rulers memory. A one man army at the cost of my lifespan. Before my family was stable and rulers could be predicted. Things were desperate to become stable. We turned to a timeless being whom had magic beyond our understanding. A being whom could check souls and direct whom was potential heir... this cat isn't as seems. A grim reaper without need of a weilding hand." He over flows the glass and had to mop up the spilt blackberry cider. He stopped worrying about it on reflection of who would bother now.
"I became to prized among humans and one day I broken one. I did such a good job of it that, it became their beneficial miracle. It made them gather energy better then the rest. So... their bloodline became famous." Ran out of things to break or knock off the tables. Goes to clean his paws with a napkin in a human manner.
"We still had a problem with predicting if the next king or queen. Sure bloodline can be traced but it was to early to that science." looking to the kid whom was listening and with Riddle being ready to leave, "Sorry... if I am keeping you here. You can leave. We're not stopping you or your partner. You didn't belong here anyways, so why would we force you to."
"I just want answers to where we are exactly." Riddle demands. The teen King picking up a device around here. He passes it to the cat whom claws through, static reboot. Passing to Riddle. The kid took it instead, naive.
"A tip, young soul. Don't ever make any action that would mean you agree blindly. You can become enslaved by Clothus that way." Sean broke a beer tap, eating the metal of it. Riddle knows exactly just what stance these folks are if they knew about enslavement. Its why they haven't exchanged names or shook hands. On further thought as he puts into perspective on what these people were telling them.
"Why did all this nuclear war happen?" The kid tech savvy and had online map open to Riddle. Riddle inspecting the digital satellite images of what remains. It puts more and more.
"Would you like the rational explanation that humans assume? Would you like the religious one that agreed among the gods left? Or would you like the turth we learned?" The cat glares at the door, sensing something, "Be ready to fight or protect yourselves." Jumps of the counter into a floating sword.
The growls outside were loud and then the shuffle of fighting. Horrible screams of creatures.
So quiet. A light building shake.
"I dislike war... and I never one for murder without a sense of mercy." Walking in, ignoring the doors exists, "Ah, I would have assumed you two undertakers would have left by now. Although being hunted by your allies does make compilation." He cut through by the floating weapon, "I am not a fake. Sheesh. You have became more paranoid then the soul tome. That books been unable to cope with the strange extra souls from the wrong time in its pages."
"You had something wrong about you."
"Six souls of undertakers because the book can't handle it. They are fighting me... of which I can't blame them. I am some monster... which is a insult to the real ones." Avoids around the two undertakers and sits down, "My beloved brother and king, I came to fetch you from being to drunk. Your potentially 2 wives are having a fit and I am not about to burst the three veins our sisters are having in the crisis aid. Showing face in front of humans makes them faint or wet themselves." Sits down at a seat at the end of the bar, "Is there anything like bleach, rat posion or just... anything?"
"I haven't even tried looking for anything to fight the mutants with." The glass is take out of the kings and ate whole, "I am not giving you poison." Agrued.
"A shame really... I needed something to burn my scales off. Anything from hell has failed me." There a long stare between the two.
"I think that has to be the frist time you admitted having a problem to me." A sobering thought, "Why would you have scales?"
"Your uncle took a god slayer tooth and killed him with it." Morphed into a cat, "He was misfortuned to live long enough for the wound to heal and the poisons to balance in his DNA... essentially becoming a slow turning god slayer."
"The day I eat people or things raw is the day I hope no one I love is alive." James thinks on that, "Scrap that. I could eat souls... so..."
"I hope I am rotted in rust by then." The cat hissed.
"Sure..." James shurgs and gentle with focus on the two undertakers, "I have a message to you, Riddle. Because they will not shut up and I can't ignore soul pleads. Dante wishes you to return to the ladyship where his partner wants you both to run. Raworth and his brother find you a disgrace. The last two are wanting to make that uncomfortable glare on you both, it would be unsettling if you could see it. Not that it bothers me." James took out a small pouch, "As to you, Hayto. They all want you to have their rings. They say a king can bring them back. I sure its true and its up to you... You are free to take thier personal belongings. The souls themselves need a container to protect them... Even a doll or charm will do."
"You are handing them over?" Riddle is surprised.
"You don't belong to our world and our system. You are invaders that I should have slaughtered... but." Directed to the device, "You lot had done enough of it. I not going to continue a cycle that makes misery. It goes against my souls wish. It goes against all enders. I am to respected with responsibility, not by those around me but of the timelines whom need a fighter in thier corner. Enders whom are unable to appease souls with dangerous wishes." There a narrowing with air, "Clothus are thier own timeline and universe. Invaders of politic rules of thier own. Whom believe that they ways are and should be the only answer. This timeline is the only one whom has repelled them out, we learned thier rules and used it against them. I have been teaching other timelines of these rules, so that they defend their slice of time space."
"Why are you explaining this?" Riddle asks.
"Your freinds didn't know... in being contained in me. They are seeing my veiw but they had not been explained it. One them chooses to claim I am a liar and is falling to murder me." Riddle sighed knowing which one.
Hayto looks at the device of more news reports and comparing the dates... He realized that there was no internet and thus the date of the date was not synced. He does his best with seeking the date of the last one. He could only really find the sad messages on social platforms. He turned the screen off. He thinks on what James was saying and puts his own ideas together.
In Hayto time with Riddle, he knows about the distrust of the Mask things. He knew about what the Queen was trying to make him not trust Riddle. And inspite of Riddle not wishing it, knows that Riddle had murdered the king before. Hayto has however felt his own ideas about it all, knowing that there was a reason for Riddles pain and he knows Riddle didn't want to follow that plan. He is a smart kid.
"We aren't prisoners, even though all this devastation was due to our freinds clearing out evil entities?"
"Good and evil. Bad and holy. Cursed." James waved a hand in thrown angelic terms and demon terms, "Opinions. They call me creepy... I prefer it. I rather be creepy then be labeled good or evil."
"You literally pick souls out of people and debate on eating them or not." The brother exclaims.
"Its not his choose. The tome is always asking for weird things. The other day I was asking to take the eye out of a corpse, roll it on the soil and then give it to the book." Sean hissed at his own disgust of it.
"Grey found that eye in a jar yesterday. Stored in the tomb of seals. He asked me where it came from." James takes stop to stare somewhere and back to the counter. He waved a hand with magic casting and had a bottle off the shelf. He weighs it to hand and throw it full force behind him. The bottle never landed and it was never seen of again.
"Damn nightmare." Sean commented, "You see, our universe is like layers of bullet proof glass. A layer is of the many worlds that inhabit the space, dreams to gods to nightmares. No two layers normally interact unless the glass thins weaker for some circumstances."
"Demons, angels, nightmares, fears, fey... the list of beings that live around humans were once endless. All of us had separate logical rules the always prevented problems. Interactions with layers were avoided. The clothus do not care about these rules we made for ourselves. Torn away them... took lives that were determent to our factor of 'living'. It were up to those whom could know and see to keep peace.
The universe cogs as they are termed as. The clothus have used you little party of undertakers to take away the eyes, ears and mouth of these cogs. Wipped away existence for whole worlds... The souls are now finding revenge... reborn as the mutants of the living nuclear waste. Maybe it were about time I crafted a rail gun... like any video gamer."
"We are not going to blame, point fingers or punish. It must be processed." Sean tots over to James, "Right?"
"I hate playing their laws system. Poker in chess board with real souls as the deck of pawns. Complicated enough. Back stabbing false Damned."
"Damned?" Riddle was reading on there section in the hunter of oath guide. In fact, the guide assumed Riddle was one since activation required blood or ink. Riddle used ink from a random pen from Hayto's pocket.
"The souls whom died with revenge or regret. Our universe gives them a chance with heavy restrictions. Gods can not see or hear them. Not unless they are specially broken souls." Riddle knows this already, "They are essentially what you are to this universe. Why the normal gods thought they were the enemy... gods know of them but can't or haven't interacted with the vast amounts of them around. The mistake of assuming them as the secret spies that caused the riots and set the churches a flame. Its ironic too... A damned in their natural form are the precursor of Clothus.... but with human souls. Clothus aren't human souls, obviously." Riddle see his mistake in distrusting these mock human.
"How did the surviving gods of the universe take it?" James sighed in a pout. He tilts in many ways and eventually just looking to Sean.
"You better not do something stupid." declared.
"Fine... i have to trust your sense of law." James thinks on it. With finally just unwrapping the mock illusion from himself. The very light in here ashed away bittle powers and with it left his head completely missing... the stump of his neck was only a melty piece.
Hayto can't help himself to vomit, a natural reaction. The brother king looks away. Leaving Riddle inspecting in curiosity. Riddle soon widen eyes as a ashes reform in a broken drama mask. He had even pulled Hayto away from the char.
"Yes... forgive me. I could find words that would make sense in a language you knew. Its hard to fit how bad they took it." The illusion is wrapped around once more, "They have learned how undying; pain, regret and revenge is. Grey has left them worse... I believe a few of them wished they had heads not mounted on the banisters." He looks mock human once more, "Again, please forgive me... it were not to make you fear or scared. My intentions are on the the table." Indeed personal items of their allies, a box of their souls and a pouch of a rings, "Go as you please. Stay if you need... the clouds of waste will cover this place in a week. Inside such death is those looking for you, unhindered with mortality and forgetting how fragile it is."
"The greatest alive we can offer if you are to leave... is do all what you can with what you have. Make no regrets and don't feel consumed by waves of others notions. All enders have spent many lifetimes no... universes. Seeking peace. They are the restless of them all. Scared and often just out of hearts reach. Outcasts of the worlds they should have been playing pretend in. I guess what I am trying to say, is be happy and share it. Even just a smile saves a life." Sean had seem to reached a vast memory.
At gloom of how it is, he to didnt want to see this kid be the next to be hurt. In line of fire thanks to the one person closest to him.
"What if we worked together on stopping the Clothus?"
"We arent war mongering. That will only break souls... you don't want that." James shivered, "There is only so much insanity to bare."
"No... I had not meant fighting. I never liked how is seemed like we had to bury or kill the evil spirits. I am not saying that we should let those spirits do their ways." Hayto mops up well with speaking mostly to Riddle, "We can change the cycle that makes them angry. With the ones you have been ignoring. They may have a totally different way of doing it, that we can adapt." Riddle pets Hayto's head in a light smirk. Yet his confused.
"You sometimes change how you veiw the world with experiences you gained. Equally you also loss the sight of other things. When you died, A Riddle. You ignored the most obvious forms of salvation you could ever dream of. Inflexible by your music, forgetting those whom listened to it." James yammer in a slow creepy manner with a smirk of his own, "Your a loud soul... you do realize this."
"Yes... never shutting up." Sean agrees, "I cant seem to pity you. You did that to yourself."
"Very harsh." James tuts, "We might need a water bucket over the flames here." The king was already on it, splashing it over James, "Good prank."
"Creep." Name calling games of siblings follows with being more childish as it can be. With only the nonsense a pair of 1 years olds can muster into lacking a educational background.
"Lord of Mages!" A brid squeezing itself between a window and a board. Hops about and turned a man, "My king." Bowed at the knees, "I came to inform you that the nobility is asking for you in courts."
"Our little war isn't over brother." Does a bunch of magic to make him look the part and with snapped fingers was gone with the bird man.
"Cherish the time you have, Hayto. The memories of now carve the roots your next three reincarnations will rely on. You have have all you need to be a great leader and a pure hearted king. I am sure the injustices you face soon aren't ever going to change your opinion and trust. You already know it from everyone around you. Yet still you choose to put faith on a cliff. You leave it to them to tip you whichever direction. I guess me telling you this hasn't changed your mind."
"How do you do it?" James is surprised with being asked this... and he knew what the purpose was.
"Love. You can make me walk many hellscape, turn me to dust and lock me from life... torture. Blood on theirs hands... my hands. See them dead or make childish word battle." James smiles in pain, "Love. You have to love what you do and your way of doing it. Love them no manner the outside shells that take."
"Even if they look scary."
"It is because they are scared of the things around them. A ghosts image is a painting of what they see of themselves. Its not whom they are."
"Now I get..." Opens the box of souls and directed them to the rings... now at his command gave life. He looses strength and falls unconcise. Caught by Riddle with fast reaction speed. Now there are six recovered undertakers standing to fight James and Sean.
"Dont... they arent the enemy." Riddle had finally accepted Hayto's choose, and can almost see his older king partner in Hayto's shadow. Standing with holding Hayto protective and close, "We need time to recover and plan... going back to hwr isn't a option anymore. Going to her will cost his life. I have to admit, I never asked for that being a option again."
"History likes to repeat." James snickers, "A universal constant. Its how we choose to do it makes history change more interesting ways." James shurgs with the discomfort of him nosing, "This pub will do for 6 days and 9 hours. The living rely on warmth, food, drink and thier welling. When I took you both, I could simply leave you with nasty wounds. As much as you ignore, a part of his soul means also a segment of his time and life. Consider it with care. He has to much faith in you."
"Why are you helping? What is your gain?"
"Self-gratification. I lower myself to lift others. Its my dream and my duty. You are all visitors of this time space. Your soul names are recorded out of her threads... for now. You are my responsibility while in my universe... they all fear me."
"Because it takes a gods fear to protect the boundaries." Sean adds, "A judge to give you the slip in or out. A human to convert context and common sense. James is why you speak our language without knowing it. When you loose that, you know her power to pawn your soul is back."
They sigh in having to accept this chance give by a cat and a creepy guy. Make the most of fixing the place up and draw plans. Riddle never left Hayto's side, even sleeping too. The six other undertakers peer at shock.
"Life shared... He ignores it. A gift and a curse. A blessing in disguise. They may not want to say it and nor will the know it. Its not even worth telling them." James sinckers, "Hayto doesn't have to totally die but its a cost of Riddle retuning that fragement back the key all along."
"No... you joking!" Exclaimed enough to wake Riddle... whom continues acting asleep.
"Protecting one will save them both. The choose is more a personal one for them to choose. You must play your parts in knowing what that could fall to being."
"I cant." Some tears.
"It will happen... fate of your timeline has it ties. You know that from how you always a pair of undertakers. No solo act survived long. Even the pretend solos aren't actually alone."
"Your not from our world." Throw weapon that cuts the counter... waking both to attention. Every in hurt emotions.
"I seen into your memories... Not that I like to do so either. I have seen how worlds apart can mean it. I did so to learn your language, at more honest answer. My advice is nothing but outsiders looking in. I see a few things you missed. I not telling how you should do." James sighs in thinking a moment, "4 days, 23 hours."
They get it with back to talking plans. James stays out of it as it wasnt his place.
"Will things clean up?" Hayto asks James. 2 days.
"Nuclear... There is only so much I can do or find to make it work." Petting Sean whom sleeps on the Tome as a leather bed, "Start again when the war is over between the few gods left. Knock sense into life and Death... they have quite the history of fighting. I... will get lost among souls and Grey will have to find me again." Sean ear flatten on hearing that, "But... it will not be in blood shed and it does mean from scratch. There is benefit of helping Enders lost. They make it thier wish to return the favor. They can save the souls whom can... be added into the world like it never changed for them."
"Why do they have to be so creepy?" James chuckled at this repeated question.
"I do it because it protects them. I really did mean that how labeled stuff. Good. bad. Gifted. Crused. Its bais opinion of the strengths and weaknesses of one's heart and souls wish. Cliché and stupid. Love is blind and without boundaries. Sometimes there should be... but you can't stop them."
"Whats you real shape?" James frowns with a light smirk.
"I am turning into a reptile. My bones are both human and reptile. Liquid ink and voided space. My cover is a book. my face a broken unsettling mask. A reflection of my dust soul." James claws some if out and pours it to the counter. The dust is of all colours, shapes and grains sizes. flex in pulling back into the body, "I will constantly change and adapt to my challenges. Even if it means they fear me... i will do it to protect them. Stop them from harm."
"You can't forever." Hayto hops down the bar seat and away he walked with listening to his freinds.
"Its like having a son." Riddle having a drink, "Looking after him."
"Technically speaking his soul is a mix of your past partner and that person past life wife's soul. Its why you got on. You see as a son due to it. Estranged God father." Riddle chocked at this, "Maybe you should listen to his advice. You can't stop him from losing what he has... as he lost enough already. His going to protect you over everything you may have taight him. You can't stop him when that happens. Your fate to avenge is sealed to end... Don't mess it up."
They left one day before... going off to newer area. Ashes melt the building and what traces left was James sitting at the bar, petting Sean and waiting for her.