Under the cloak of night, darkened by the ebbing clouds and a coat of moisture that glistened over the docks of the gothic-themed city.
The crates were loaded by a minor criminal group that operated in the shadows. However they found themselves rallied because at that moment, their operation was under siege.
Not by police nor a rival group, they were equipped to handle any of them.
And yet their bodies littered the ground, all scattered around where they once stood, not an army or even a squadron, but a single person.
An army would've been merciful, anyone else would've been merciful.
The last thoughts of these corpses knew they were outmatched; that this person was their judgement, their harbinger of death. A grim reaper.
Feeling the breezy winds, he stood at the epicenter of the carnage under a black-tattered cloak that reached over his grey boots adorned with black belts. With spiky black hair swept back with bangs covering over his pale white skinned face and eyes glowed with raging red, he also wears a black beaked mask that points down the chin. He held a very thin black rifle with a revolver chamber and a scythe blade for a bayonet that seemed to fold in his right hand.
Most people thought this cloaked individual was an urban legend. But those who knew his existence knew his name, often they whispered with dread. The Reaper, Ghost of Hollow Hills, The Wandering Crow, The Night Hunter, and in the tongues of cowards, Death himself.
His true name is Alex Crowe.
"So you are the legendary Reaper I've heard so much about, yes?" an accent-laden voice out.
Alex peered towards the ship where he saw someone descending gang plank. A well-built man with short brown hair and beard, wearing a dark brown long coat and pants of darker color, carrying a shotgun that rested on his shoulder and a battle axe slinging on his back.
"I've heard stories about you..." he drawled with a mocking grin. "About your prattle with the rebellion in Empire City and you slaughtered demons and an army of superhumans."
The man expected a response but the reaper only remained silent with the spikes of his hair continuing to sway in the wind. This prompted him to stand before him and continue to talk.
"I will say, that despite how much I think your feats are exaggerated, I am interested in your titles."
Alex figured as much, as his actions in Hollow Hills, St. Olga's Asylum, and Empire, even though the former resistance leader Alden Strahm waned his bounty for his help, his titles became prestigious among warriors in the world. As a result, his status attracts challengers with grand ambitions to prove their mettle, dethrone him and yes, gain their vengeance.
Honestly, he found it quite tiresome that these people constantly pestered him.
"You were the guy everyone fears? Don't make me laugh! You're just a boy!" the man scoffed and readied his shotgun aimed at him. "Once I'm done with you, it will be MY name respected the world over. Armano Vantes, "The Panzer Hunter."
He pulled the trigger and fired a spread shot but Alex turned into mist and dodged to the side. He tried again and again, but it was the same each time.
When Alex has had enough, he kicks the wooden barrel at the self-proclaimed hunter. Vantes shoots the barrel into smithereens but Alex was already onto him with his scythe-rifle aim at him. He shoots down the shotgun from his hands and hooks his blade on the shotgun and swings it back at Vantes, hitting him with force.
Stumbled, the hunter growled and reached for his battle axe. "Very well, blades then."
He charged first with his axe raised he brought down his weapon with tremendous force that would surely cleave anything stood in its way.
The exception came with a loud CLANG!
Vantes' face stretched in surprise that the Reaper swiped his axe. To Alex, the attack was slow. Seeing his surprised state, he wasted no time punching the hunter's face and digs his blade through the hunter's left shoulder before throwing him across the docks.
Vantes gets up while clutching his wound and what he saw sent a shiver through his body.
The Reaper walks menacingly towards him with his red eyes narrowed like a predator cornering his prey.
The hunter felt his murderous intent, causing him to crawl back in fear, his bravado completely forgotten.
"P-Please...don't kill me." he begged.
Crowe had no intentions of sparing him, but he did intend to make death swift. He was about to close in for a kill but something interrupted him.
The self-proclaimed hunter was suddenly pounced on by an unknown monster.
Alex halted his steps with his eyes widened as he watches the monster scratch and maul Vantes, his scream of pain echoed the night.
When the creature was done, it turned to face him. It was a hound with a humanoid figure, its fur is darker grey and ragged, its claws sharp and stained with blood, its glowing white eyes stared back at the reaper with its teeth frothing with drool and blood.
Alex knew this creature is called the Beasthound. Yes, they are monsters roaming the city at night, but the timing still took him by surprise.
Seeing the creature's intention, Alex readied his weapon. The Beasthound tries to pounce on him but Alex jumps sideways and shoots at it. The beast staggered then roared with rage. It tries to swipe which Alex turns into mist and dodged, the beast raises his claw and swings down then Alex blocks it with his rifle.
Locking the hound in the struggle, Alex outstretched his free hand into a fist and covered it with dark red mist before punching the hound away.
With the beast staggered, Alex jumps on to a crate and turns into mist once more to boost himself up in the air.
While in mid-air, with a click of a button, the scythe blade rotated forward, making it like a spear. He descends down and when the hound looks up and roars, he stabs the hound right in the mouth. As the beast struggled, Alex pulled the trigger and blew its head off.
The Beasthound is no more. Alex pulls out his weapon and flicks it to get the blood off before stashing it in his cloak.
He walks over to Vantes' corpse and leeches out his life force, fresh even in death. One look at his memories showed him that he was a daredevil who didn't value his life and scoffed. After he finishes, he dashes towards a rooftop of a nearby building in mist form then continues to teleport his way into the city via rooftops.
This is the gothic city called Luciana, prosperous by day and by night. No one knows why these monsters specifically haunt this city, but its people learned to adapt to this lifestyle by issuing hunters.
It has been a year since the events of Empire City and he selected this city for one thing.
To live his life in exile.
When Alex arrived, the first thing the people saw him do was kill a monster or fight bad guys. He didn't do either of those things for generosity, only they were simply in his way. But they gave him their gratitude regardless. It seems they were not alarmed by his presence given his reputation, either they didn't know...or they're trying to deceive him.
They tried to reward him but he declined, however he did ask one thing in return.
His space.
All he wants is peace and quiet, no one to bother him. Sometimes he'd hear people gossip about who he really is, and those who found either left him be or seek hostility and never made it out alive.
He has finally arrived in an abandoned church with a bell tower and gargoyles perching on ledges. No one ever really comes in this old beat-up church ever since a new one had been established just a few blocks away.
He climbed into the bell tower through the glassless window, where his personal belongings were laid out in the room, overlooking the inside of the church. The wooden floors are dusty and broken, the chairs were scattered from their original places, the altar is exactly where it's at, and a hole from the roof where the moonlight shines to the middle.
He lit up his lantern and set it beside his sleeping mat, he put his scythe-rifle by the wall along with a whetstone, and a white dirty cloth.
He then removed his black, revealing his full set of clothes he's currently wearing. A grey quarter length sleeve shirt with black wrappings on both sleeve ends and his waist under his belt with a few pouches, a black leather vest that covers only the upper chest, black skinny jeans and grey boots, wrapped in a few black belts, with red foot soles.
He puts his cloak down, sits on the mat cross-legged and pulls out a book given by his remaining friend from the resistance and starts reading.
The book is called the Revenant's Grimoire and from it, they were details of his powers and he had been learning more from it.
Like he had learned that he isn't human anymore, what he is has a name.
Revenant.
Revenants are cursed beings who were brought back from death, neither living nor dead, but stuck in between. Despite undeath, (to Alex's blessing) they still retain their souls. As a revenant, other than a ghostly-white skin for a side effect, he's granted superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, and instinct. He also has extremely high pain tolerance, which explains how he was able to survive fatal punishments. He's basically immortal in a way. They can also be a vessel for greater magic.
That boils down to his powers called the Soul Devour & Siphon, a rare kind of magic that elevates far beyond any magic user, but this magic also associates with death itself.
He had learned his abilities, like confirming his ability to steal life essences or souls from his victims, living and freshly dead. He absorbs that life energy and siphons it into power and regeneration. Makes him wonder how powerful he is from his kills up to now.
His dark shadow-like eldritch magic that destroys what it touches. It also allows him to create ethereal constructs. His projectiles, his scythe, or even enhance his attacks, anything he thinks of. But he's not too reliant on his powers as he is confident in his fighting skills.
However, his most powerful and dangerous ability is the Shadow Rage. It is a dark form where he goes berserk and more powerful in this state. But it has drawbacks, it lacks defense and control, especially when it's triggered by immense fury or when his life is being threatened, it will eat away his soul until all he knows is rage. There were times where times where he did use it on his quest for revenge but each time he uses it almost made him lose himself, so he made a point to try not to use it unless he must.
He had continued reading. Despite its use, the fact that this journal had very details of his powers and what he can do makes it seem like whoever wrote this knew everything about him. His friend who gave it to him mentioned the name Cypher. He doesn't know who they are, but something about that name gave an ominous vibe that it unnerved him.
He closed the book, set it aside and pulled out bird seeds. He stretched his palm and the crow that's been following him perched down and fed. Then he gazed upon the window overlooking the city.
It's been a year since he left Empire City. Looking back then, his quest for vengeance against his sister, his part with the resistance, who he would meet, who he would fight, who he lost, and in the end, killed his sister even though he wasn't convinced she was really dead. He got what he wanted, and he hated the things he had done, what he had become.
Now in Luciana, he would try to live a normal life.
Is it possible to have a new life, without your past catching up to you?
Is killing all he does?
Can someone like him be forgiven?
Hmm hmm-hmm hmm-hmm hmmm.
Hmm hmm-hmm hmm-hmm hmmm.
Alex's thoughts were interrupted by the humming of a beautiful voice. He knew it came from inside the church so he put on his cloak and went to investigate.
Jumping on the wooden catwalk on the pillars up the ceiling he found the source of the song.
Hmm hmm-hmm hmm-hmm hmmm.
Hmm hmm-hmm hmm-hmm hmmm.
He looked intently and he saw a person in the moonlight shining down on her in the middle of the room, the voice humming a song suggests this is a young woman.
She's wearing a black poncho with the hood up, but he has yet to see her face. She was wearing white dress with floral designs at the ends of her dress underneath.
Hmm hmm-hmm hmm-hmm hmmm.
Alex doesn't know who this girl is but there's something about her that compels but he does not know what. He had been watching her with curiosity and interest, and after some time she stopped humming and turned her head to gaze up in his direction.
She must've noticed his presence and yet he doesn't sense any bad intentions from her.
She raises her hands to her hood and pulls it down. Her long shimmering dirty-blonde hair flowed down along with two braids, her complexion is fair, and green eyes shone with hope peering at his dark red eyes.
To Alex's intrigue, she's stunningly beautiful as she flashes a heart-fluttering smile.