Now was the time for the story about the reckless Barbarian that stole a bear's supper.
Goldilocks, who was now more like 'Golden Dreadlocks' after having been awakened, had the look of a predetor. Seeing the zombies around him as nothing more than insects.
Vermin that smelled bad. They had no reason to be existing in this city that was now 'his'.
He also had a clear goal in mind.
'I will become the true Black Death.' Golden Dreadlocks thought with clear understanding.
He knew everything that Little Red didn't.
This was thanks to the nature of his existence. The way he had 'awakened'.
It was a natural awakening.
Goldie Dread was once a young boy that had a scary face, and it wasn't that bad at first.
Having sharp features made him the favourite child of his younger sister and caring father at home. They loved that part of his looks. They wanted him to have the best life he could.
It all started with an incident in middle school.
He and his female friend got into a heated argument, which ended with her tripping.
That was all it took for the 'prospective heroes' to band together against him.
"You pushed her over!"
"I saw him push her!"
This slander was thrown around. All until the entire class had ganged up around him.
They beat him black and blue until the bell for recess ending resounded. They left him hurt.
When he went home, there were only two people in his life who were on his side.
They stood up for him.
"My brother DOES look scary, but he's a softie at heart!" It was an embarrassing look.
An argument that only his three year old sister could come up with. To defend him on that.
To say he was scary so straightforwardly…
How adorable.
"My son is a gentleman. He would never hurt a classmate like this." His father had roared.
Not holding back the clear trust and intimacy from knowing his son. It had become clear.
With the voices of his family protecting him, it eventually was found out by asking the victim herself that nothing happened. Those in the class who had accused him now felt wrong.
Knowing that they'd jumped to conclusions.
Let the good guys enjoy their victory.
Goldie Dreadlocks had proved that he wasn't some punk, and believed he'd live happily.
But he understood the power of pettiness.
Some of those kids had shinier shoes and slicker hair even before they were weaned.
Their mouths filled with sugar and silver spoons. There was no point of comparison between a farmer and a noble. When some with background wanted to become heroes, it was essential for them to have clean records.
Else risk humiliation from peers.
Amongst those kids that harassed him were a few of those prodigal scrooges. The stooges.
Three of them at that.
When he got to high school, the start of his tragedy happened with making new friends.
"Do you want to hang out with me?" A pretty girl had asked, and Goldie was smitten.
Agreeing without a second thought.
She had a cute smile.
He hung out and got to know her, but there seemed to be bad rumours about her.
"They're just bullying me. You won't do that too, will you?" She appealed to his heart.
Even though it could harm his reputation before he could create a good image, he was righteous enough to take her side. No matter what they said, they couldn't gossip like this.
That was his mistake.
Oh, the follies of youth. Walking into a simple trap that ended with him losing everything.
Rumours about him became more and more intense. Worst of it all? She told the truth.
Right when it mattered less.
"Yeah, I was paid to set you up for this. Now try explaining why you were at a bar. Smoking the air with empty bottles by ya side." There were pictures being circulated everywhere.
If this merely ruined him, then he would've been able to bounce back from it eventually.
However, things had taken a dark turn.
When he came home, he dropped his bag at the sight of his younger sister in the kitchen.
Her lips were torn. An eye was blue. Some of her hair had been turn and was bleeding.
"…Why?"
"They told me it's because of you." A hoarse voice like an old woman's had spoken.
From what she said, as soon as his pictures were leaked, 'social justice' came for her.
It was cruel and unfair.
Because she was family with filth who was disguising as a hero, she bore the stigma.
And so did his father.
His father had become more silent and older after the incident. He had lost his job.
But was this the worst part of it all?
No, the worst part was that this 'friend' he made disappeared along with all the answers.
She left the city with her family.
Who and why someone would do such a thing to him had been buried underground.
No longer able to find the truth.
He couldn't return to the school with everyone treating him in such a brutal way.
The 'justified bullying' and hate was intense.
He ended up forced into the dark path they said he was on beforehand. Unknowing of who exactly gave the order to ruin his life. All that he'd built over the years became trash.
Nothing was left of who he originally was.
Now he was simply the stereotype of a delinquent. Skipping school for shady deals.
That was… until the disaster had struck.
Golden clouds encompassed the sky, and a brief look at that 'creature' froze their hearts.
He had no idea why 'they' were chosen.
While following the clues to find those who were still alive, he ran into a certain monster.
It took the form of someone he recognised.
No, that monster WAS the person he knew.
A white haired girl holding an apple. She wore a flowing dress, like a sculpture of beauty.
Fair as a cotton cloud and white as a sickly patient on their deathbed. Her eyes were red.
Glowing an ominous aura.
"Is this really okay…?" She asked Goldie Dreadlocks his opinion. It was too difficult.
Her memories made it hard to be cruel.
The blonde young man patted her head. He told the young girl his true thoughts freely.
"No matter what we say, the Humans won't accept the dead. We cannot coexist when those things are the norm." Goldie pointed at the zombies looking around for the living.
It caused her to look more confused. He still continued to pat her head to comfort her.
He, his sister, and their father… hadn't chosen to become Dark Muses, but this was real.
They had to accept it.
One of them will have to become the Black Death to save the others. It was the only way.
He didn't want to lose them a second time.
…..
….
…
..
.
Ryan Rayleigh watched Lex's back when they were coming down to the mall's lower levels.
The stairway was forced open.
There was a depressed look on the youth.
Of course, it all had to do with the bondage between an heir and their inherent lineage.
Living up to a dream put down by others.
Unable to move past that.
"Did I ever tell you about myself?" Ryan asked to try and cheer this guy up a little.
"Is there a point in me knowing?" He gave quite the antisocial and distasteful remark.
"People get closer by knowing more about each other. By understanding one another."
"Sounds like you have a lot of 'friends'."
"And I'm guessing you don't?" Ryan spoke these words thoughtlessly, but felt bad when Lex acknowledged this with his silence. The awkwardness was at home in their laps.
Making itself at home whenever the two of different eras tried having a heart to heart.
How could they possibly converse?
Maybe joking around was fine, but Lex had never truly believed Ryan could understand.
Nor did he want understanding.
Yes. Because all kids that age were always under the notion that they were unique.
That their uniqueness brought solitude.
A silence that could never be broken by the likes of flimsy consolations and compliments.
Still, Ryan chose to break that stagnation.
To choose forwardness over nothingness.
"I really hate my father. He's missing. I don't know if he's dead or alive, but I'm not worried in the least." With these words came a confused look from the one hearing this.
He couldn't imagine such hatred.
To stay so furious at one's own father.
"Did he… hurt you?" Lex's curiosity got the better of him. Wanting to understand better.
"He was always drinking and making fun of me. Never letting me simply be his son. He laughed at me, bullied me, and never took anything seriously. Having the ego of a real Shaolin Soccer superstar." Ryan sighed.
"Was he really that famous?"
"The guy even got a tournament named after him when he disappeared. He was the best."
"Reminds me of my dad."
"No, you shouldn't think that." Ryan suddenly stopped him and grabbed him by the arms.
He continued: "Even though I hated him, it didn't stop me from trying to emulate his signature shot. It's the 'Impulse Spear'. One of the most powerful goal shots that cannot be stopped by any means. You understand?"
"Understand what?"
"You don't have to learn 'real' bullets. I think you should be proud of your 'fakes'." These words from Ryan were sincere, but they lacked the tact to get Lex to compromise.
"My fakes are still fake in the end. They can't compare to the power of the real deal."
"I might not know how strong that is, but you should understand that not everything is better because it's old." Ryan tried to persuade him, but his words fell on deaf ears.
"Let's stop talking about this." Lex's words caused the youth to shut up with a frown,
He failed to say anything of meaning.
Only prattling on about his hatred of his father to someone who really loves his own.
The gap between them had became larger.
Ryan sighed again from the complexity of relationships. Truly difficult to maintain.
It made him talk about something else.
"You created those 'Blanks' yourself, didn't you?" It was at this moment Ryan nailed this.
"…It's a byproduct of failure."
"You don't use it like it's a failure."
"My fighting style is adapted from having bad mastery over it." Lex shook his head strongly.
In denial of such baseless and thoughtless compliments. His words almost a retaliation.
In anger, he tried to walk out. Away from such bogus accusations coated in a veil of respect.
Which ended in him smacking into a locked door. His body bouncing off to hit the floor.
"…" Ryan sucked in his lips and tried not to laugh. Looking away when the boy glanced.
Lex's face twisted in fury.
He pulled back his arm for a Cartridge Load and twisted his body to throw it at the door.
A large thudding sound bursted.
But not enough to break the lock fully.
Rather than throwing another, Lex seamlessly got into stance with his hand on the door.
Eventually deciding to give a big push.
The sudden burst of kinetic energy snapped the door in half. Throwing it into the mall.
When they saw the other side of the door, an eerie feeling started to overwhelm them.
Although it was Lex making all the noise, he was the first to notice a lack of any reactions.
Such a large sound should've alerted the nearby zombies in the area at the very least.
But nothing had arrived.
It was as if the entire mall was empty.
There was only two reasons the zombies wouldn't be crawling around in this place.
The first was they died.
Someone had came to purify and eliminate them… or this place had become a 'territory'.
The territory had become the home of a really strong Dark Muse. The worst possible option.
Lex reflexively went for his weapons, only to realise he only had the Emerald MagiKnife.
A figure lurked in the distance above them.