*CLANG!* … *CLANG!* … *clang…* *clang…*
I could hear something in the distance. It sounded very close, but I didn't want to get up to see it. I wanted to stay in bed and just keep my eyes closed.
It was probably just some random noise that happens due to a random occurrence of events.
*CLANG!* … *CLANG!* … *clang…* *clang…*
This went on for thirty minutes straight and never stopped once. It was a continuous pattern. Two loud bangs, then two low ones. It sounded like metal banging against a wall. I really didn't want to get up because of some metal banging and I was really loving this bed, but this banging was really getting on my nerves.
"Hey, Xyl," I said to the sleeping body next to me. "Do you hear that?"
"…yeah…I've been hearing it for the past thirty minutes." She groaned.
"Think you can sleep through it?"
"…doubt it…"
"Wanna go stop it?"
"…yeah."
We both lazily and annoyed got up from our bed and made our way to the lobby and out into a nearby alleyway. The noise came from in between one of the many pubs spread across this town and I believe to be some sort of library. It was a narrow pathway, but the noise was definitely coming from within there.
"It's a little dark in there." I commented.
"Not a lot of light is being sent in there because of the way the tops are built on these buildings," Xylvia explained. "There are still some patches of light, so you should still see in front of you."
The two walls to our sides were almost touching our shoulders as we walked into the alleyway. I started to have second thoughts about this decision. As much as I wanted that annoying banging to stop, what if it ends up being something dangerous. And with this being a very narrow pathway, our odds of dodging whatever attacks us are pretty much zero.
*CLANG!* … *CLANG!* … *clang…* *clang…*
That noise grew louder as we crept closer. At first it sounded annoying, but now it suddenly started to sound haunting. It was an unnatural pattern of constant noise. It didn't feel like some sort of natural cause due to an abundance of events, but rather a force of one causing it. However, it didn't feel human either. It felt like it was inside that unknown grey area of an unexplainable phenomenon.
I never believed in ghosts, or even in the supernatural for that matter. However, this world has different rules.
"Hey, you see that?" Xylvia pointed.
What she saw was a silhouette of what looked to be a man moving his arm right to left with something in his hand. His back looked to be turned away from us.
*CLANG!* … *CLANG!* … *clang…* *clang…*
He was the source of the noise.
"What's he banging against the wall?" I wondered.
"It's a pipe," Xylvia answered. "About 4.65 joints long. We should probably stay away from him. Ohh…but I really want that noise to stop."
"Wait, you can see that?"
"Of course I can. It's just a Summoner thing that you have. Their eyes are never able to see that well in darker places for some reason."
I think that's more of a Felinian thing than it is a Summon thing.
"I'm starting to think we should just ignore the noise," I suggested. "I mean, he'll stop eventually."
"Hiro, he's been going at this for almost an entire section with no sign of stopping," Xylvia pointed out. "Since you're still kinda new here, you should probably hang back. I can take care of it. Just keep the path clear for me in case anything happens."
"I do not like the way you worded that."
With almost no hesitation, Xylvia walked up to the man banging the pipe at the wall and grabbed his shoulder. The man didn't budge no matter how hard Xylvia pulled, but she wasn't backing down.
"Hey, you wanna cut that shit out," Xylvia spat at him. "I tend to have an undying love for sleep, so I can be rather sensitive when it comes to being woken up too early. How about you cut that banging out before I bang the side of your head for an hour straight!"
"Umm…I-I don't know her," I said to the man. "I was dragged here against my will!"
Xylvia rolled her eyes after hearing my comment.
"…"
"…"
…
It was completely silent. Xylvia turned to see the man still facing his back towards us, but he stopped banging the pipe.
"Heh, I thought so," Xylvia scoffed. "Damn creep."
I didn't even bother looking behind me. I immediately booked it out of the alleyway and back into the sunlight. My guess, it was about 6:30 AM.
"Seriously Hiro," Xylvia exclaimed, her voice echoing from the alleyway. "You do realize that if he had even tried anything, I would've had his blood staining my clothes before he could even form a fist. You've really gotta trust me-"
I heard zero noise. Only the sound of Xylvia's footsteps as she ran back towards me as well as her voice insulting my fear. However, there was nothing to be heard from the same man rushing straight after her. For a split second, I wanted to cry. I was so scared that I almost didn't reacted. However-
"BEHIND YOUUUU!!!!"
I heard myself screaming out to her before I even realized it.
Xylvia reacted with near-perfect reflexes. The split-second she turned around, she leaped up insanely high and landed several meters away from the man chasing her. However, the second Xylvia turned around, the man stopped running and faced the other way. His back, once again, facing us.
Once I knew that Xylvia was fine, I relaxed myself a little and tried to process what I had just seen. There was no doubt that this man was the same man in that alleyway banging the pipe against the wall. I couldn't remember his face, but I do remember the way he ran. He never paced his arms or any other pet of his body. It looked like only his legs were moving that whole time.
"Hey, Xylvia," I quietly muttered. "I'm gonna ask you to do something, ok? I want you to turn around slowly, but I'll let you know if he tries something."
"A-Are you sure about that," Xylvia asked me, rightfully concerned. "I know you're reflexes are pretty solid, but what if he uses magic?"
"I trust in your abilities. I just want to see something."
"A-Alright."
Xylvia wasn't at all afraid of whatever this man in front of us was, but she showed deep concern for me. I can agree that the actions I'm taking are incredibly risky, but I really want to see why this guy suddenly stopped after following Xylvia so closely.
Xylvia slowly started to turn around. As soon as she started, I looked back to see what the man was doing…and he was slowly turning as well. He was dressed in some sort of black fabric from the neck down. His eyes were completely gouged from his face and painted black over it. His mouth was carved into a wide grin with stitches sewing it shut. He didn't have a nose as it was all just barren skin and his ears had small daggers stabbed into them.
"Xylvia, take a step forward." I muttered.
Xylvia hesitated at first, but she swallowed her worries and took a step forward. As she did that, the man took one as well, matching her pace, distance, and foot placement.
"Hiro, what's he doing?" Xylvia asked me.
"He's facing in your direction," I said to her, my eyes still locked onto the man. "And he took a step at the exact same time you did."
"Why's he copying my movements?"
"Could be because you touched him."
"But why? I've never seen anybody like this before."
I can't really offer up any explanations myself since I'm completely new to this world, so this was the best I could think of.
"Xylvia, keep walking forward, slowly, until I say stop." I said to her.
"Hiro, I really don't think learning about this thing is worth it," Xylvia pleaded. "I can just kill this thing and we can go back to sleep."
"I'm sorry, but this is something I want to know. Just trust me, ok?"
I don't know what came over me, but I just had this…need to learn more about this thing. It was like some kind of spell was controlling my mind, teasing my curiosity bit by bit, edging me closer and closer to it.
I could hear Xylvia's footsteps from my left. I listened to them as the man began to walk as well. It was strange how Xylvia's made noise, but the man's didn't. He really was like a ghost.
Xylvia had already walked past me and was about four meters away from me, leaving the man walking right up to me. He still made no sound. I couldn't even hear his breathing. Not even my peripheral vision could see him. The only way I was able to tell that he was there was when I turned to face him.
"Xylvia, stop." I muttered.
Her footsteps stopped making sounds. The man stopped moving. All I could do was stare at him, but the more I stared the more warped the world around me began to look. I started to feel really dizzy, almost falling down from the motion sickness. I quickly closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, letting my anxiety flush out of my body.
The spinning finally stopped. I no longer felt sick. I sighed and opened my eyes…
"…-!"
"…"
…he was inches away from my face.
*CRRRRACK! SNAP!*
That was the sound of a bone snapping out of place. I looked over at the man's arm to see it completely dislocated out of its socket. Then…
*PNAS! KCARRRRC!*
It popped right back in place, as if time had been reversed.
Now his eyes were the only thing I could stare at. Cold, black, dead sockets devoid of all emotions. There was nothing there. Nothing but a void. This void was empty, endless, flowing…rough…a river… A river…
A body…silence…
*DMMMM…*
I felt some kind of impact thrust straight at my chest. It didn't send me flying backwards, but instead I remained frozen when I stood. The man didn't make a single noise nor did he move. He remained a statue that continued to haunt my head.
I couldn't break away from his stare. I suddenly found my right hand inching closer and closer to him. I wanted to stop it, but it refused to listen. My right hand was a completely different entity that was infused with my arm. Shoulder, hair, cheek. It didn't matter. It didn't care where it touched him, it only just wanted to grab him..
I could feel tears pour down my eyes, but I made no noise. I felt like I was falling down a black pit as I continued to stare into this man's black eyes. His eyeless sockets painted as a void.
My hand was merely a fingernail's length away from touching him.
"…"
"…"
*SHHK!*
I bit my tongue as hard as I could to the point where blood started oozing out. I suddenly found myself back in control, that strange curiosity vanished from my head. I stopped my hand dead before it could even make contact with the man in front of me.
The tears in my eyes blurred my vision, so I quickly wiped them off. The man was suddenly back to where he was standing, except he was turned around this time. However, he suddenly started to run back towards the alleyway. Only then did I hear Xylvia's footsteps coming closer to me.
"Hiro," she exclaimed to me, throwing her arms around me while trying hard not to cry. "Don't you ever fucking do that again! You hear me! Never again! Promise me! Promise me that you'll never do anything that dangerous again!"
I felt he grip grow tighter and tighter as she screamed louder and louder. If her claws were out, they would've probably stabbed all the way to my bones.
No words came out of my mouth. I felt confused at first, but then I suddenly felt a painful warmth growing in my chest. It was as if Xylvia's own emotions were circulating throughout my body. I couldn't help but react to her sobbing with tears of my own.
I want to hug her back. I want to let her know that I'm ok. And I want to comfort her so that she could stop crying. However, the overwhelming guilt inside of me got the better of me. So I just sat there in silence, tears rolling down my eyes and a crying girl who wouldn't let me go even if I tried to get away.
Do I even deserve this hug? I made her do something that was probably hard for her to do. This was probably the kind of stuff that got the people she cared about killed. Maybe that's why she's so upset?
I really want to hug her. Please stop crying. I swear, I didn't want you to feel this way. I just…wait…what was I trying to do again?
I remember my hand wanting to touch that man, but why though. And why was I so interested in how he worked? This isn't like me. I'm never this careless.
I looked over Xylvia's shoulders to see the man sitting down with his arms hugging the air, mimicking the same staggering movement that Xylvia did through her crying when she gasped for a breath.
Just what in the hell is he? Those eyes…there was nothing there. And yet… How in the hell did that happen? Xylvia doesn't seem to know what this kinda of being is. Could it be this world's version of a cult member? Or is it much much worse than I'm making it out to be?
*FWOOSH!*
An intense heat suddenly beamed onto me from my right side. And before I could react, a massive wave of fire was sent hurdling towards the crouching man, who mimic some sort of hand movement, and sent him flying backwards. His arm was torn clean off from the fiery blast.
As the ashes disappeared, the man was visible again…and still up. In fact, he picked himself back up completely and turned around…his head a complete 180. The bones cracking in his neck sent a disgusting chill down my spine. However, that's as the least of my worries.
Beyond the least…
The man suddenly reached out his hand…
*SSHHHLLRRP!*
And before I could even blink, a geyser of blood sprayed straight onto the right side of me.
*PLLT!*
A wet object landed to my left. I could only slowly turn my head to see what it was.
"…"
I was silent.
"…"
The man remained silent.
"AAAAUUUUUUHHHHHHH!!!!!"
But Xylvia's screams couldn't have been more louder as she grabbed hold of the bone and flesh sticking out from her shoulder. Trying to keep everything inside. The blood, however, continued to pour.