A frail-looking man carrying a suitcase with bags under his eyes and whose complexion is akin to someone who is dead his frame was reminiscent of a typical overworked Japanese corporate slave. The man, William Forezter was sitting on the farthest side of the train seats. The man's eyes was drooping and was on the verge of falling to the sweet embrace of slumber but just as he was about to fall asleep he felt his pockets vibrating, it was the man's phone the caller by the name of "Aria" can be seen through the screen and once the man saw this his once lifeless eyes regained their light, the man quickly answered the phone and a sweet angelic voice can be heard from the box of metal.
{"William? Are you there?"}
What came in response to those words was a hoarse and deep voice not expected to come from a weak and frail man such as him.
{"Hello Aria, What's wrong?"}
William asked worriedly, wondering why his beloved was calling so late at night.
{"You see, the landlord has been pestering me about our rent again saying he will really kick us out if the rent pay won't be handed to him by today, my current cash won't cut it and my salary is still on sunday..."}
The girl named Aria begrudgingly spoke, her voice was decreasing in volume and a hint of embarrassment can be sensed from her tone.
{"That bastard... I already told him I'll have it ready by tomorrow I even told him that I will add in interest for paying late"}
He spoke as he touched his forehead as if massaging it, his voice letting out a tone of irritation
"Don't worry Aria I'll talk to him again just wait for me there okay?"
The man said gently to reassure the voice from the other end
{"I'm sorry William I should be the one paying for this month and yet..."}
"Don't apologize, haven't I told you before? If the burden is too heavy don't hesitate to lean on me that's why instead of saying sorry I would like to hear something else hmmm... I wonder what that is? Do you perhaps know?"
{"....Thank you William, once I get my pay I will surely pay you back"}
"No need for that my dear Aria I will surely get my pay later...
"...In bed"
{...!!!}
The man softened his tone at the latter part, his voice akin to a whisper and can only be heard if one is focusing on the conversation but seeing that most of the people inside were like him whose faces were also on the verge of dying there was no need to worry about that.
{"Jeez, don't say that! What if I get pregnant? We can hardly fend for ourselves adding another stomach to feed would be too much for our current income"}
"Huh? are you misunderstanding something? I only meant to cuddle and nothing more- ehh? What's this? Aria did you perhaps mean something more? I did not think you were such a pervert!
{"Hey!!!!"}
As the mood turned from bitter to a bit of lasciviousness, a smile can be seen from across William's face and his body relaxed, his aura changed so much to the point that one will question if this was the same gloomy near-dead person from before.
"Anyway Aria I heard the "Chaliced Venerables" are once again terrorizing the city be sure to lock the windows and doors we never know what those phsychotic bastards might do"
{"Way ahead of you! I heard gunshots not too far from here too... This neighborhood is getting more and more dangerous just yesterday our neighbor was murdered with an axe! I heard his head was even hung on the wall... Maybe we should move out after all?"}
"If we could we would've already the cost of living when moving to another city is still too much for our budget right now."
{"I know... but I won't really mind if we end up becoming beggars you know? as long as I'm with you I believe it will all work out somehow."}
"Don't be like that, you still have a dream to chase don't you? I promised to support you with that"
William's conviction held true, for him who had no parents to support him she was the one who helped him get through his toughest of hours he hoped that it is natural that he do the same, she was the man's greatest treasure and his only attachment to life.
{"You're still on about that... I told you William I'm happy already just being by your side don't mind my ramblings from the past..... and you know? what about your dream?"}
"I said it before and I'll say it again my dream is seeing you fulfill your dream that's enough for me."
{Thank you William... but remember to not push yourself too hard you've been weakening a lot these past few days I'm worried about your health and on top of that you haven't been sleeping enough...}
"I'm fine Don't worry about it I know my body's limits more than anyone and even if I do get weak I got my beloved girlfriend at home that will comfort me"
{Sigh, I feel like you're not listening to- BANG!}
"Huh? Aria what was that?? I think I heard a loud bang"
{BANG! BANG! BANG!}
Following the first wave of sound a few consecutive bangs came right after.
"Aria?? Aria are you there?!? Answer me Aria!!!"
William shouted, Ignoring the gazes that were directed at him he continued calling out the name of his beloved lover but no response can be heard from his shouting, Suddenly a scary thought came to mind the thoughts of everything that he worked hard for crumbling down sent a chill down his spine, his heartbeat accelerated and he prayed to whoever was listening above that his premonition was untrue.
A metallic voice can be heard throughout the entire train signifying that it has reached one of its destinations
"Attention Passengers, We have arrived at Falicio station as this is our last stop for today we kindly request all passengers to get off the train and empty the seats, Thank you. I repeat We---}
As soon as he heard the voice, William dashed through the doors of the train leaving his belongings behind and ignoring his surroundings, his thoughts filled only with his lover.
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William, covered in mud and out of breath arrived in front of their home, the usual "Welcome home" cannot be heard the door was slightly opened and a little push was all that it took to open it.
"Aria?! Where are you Aria?!"
William was once again calling the name of his beloved, shouting as loud as his voice throat can.
But-
...
...
...
No response.
Unresponsive.
Eerie silence permeated through the house, the air was cold and the atmosphere was feels as if it could choke someone.
William ran towards the kitchen where Aria always is, thinking of new ingredients with a huge smile on her face even considering their economic status Aria always smiled, and that smile was what kept William going even though life was kicking him behind he believed that as long as he can protect that smile then the pain was all worth it.
As William arrived in the kitchen he saw a scene that even his worst of nightmares would not dare show him.
Aria's lifeless body.
Her body was laying on the cold floor near the sink holding her phone in one hand and a spatula on the other, a huge pool of blood can be observed leading one to believe that time has passed since her passing.
William was just stared at her lifeless body, not even crying nor shouting in pain. He just stared as if the scene before him was not real that it was an illusion, yes that was what he convinced himself.
"Aria? ahahaha this can't be real right? this is a prank right? this blood thing is just catsup right??"
As William walked towards her, he was spouting nonsense and fooling himself, trying to convince himself that this is just one of his lover's pranks.
But alas, reality does not discriminate no matter how much he believed it to be untrue the irrefutable evidence in front of him denied those foolish thoughts.
He held his departed lover's hand feeling her once warm touch turn to cold forced him to believe that in front of him was - Reality.
"hhughkk...hughhkk"
Tears spread across his face, he was crying while holding his lover's hand.
"A- ughhokkk A-Aria... W-We promised everything to each other! Even our deaths you told me that we'd die together! Ughhkkk We haven't even made your dream come true yet! Please....Please Don't leave me like this..."
William pleaded but no matter what he said, the dead can never hear the living.
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Several days passed after Aria's death, the shooter was not found but the bullet that went through her head had a mark on it, it was the "Chalice Venerable's" Insignia which showed a Snake coming out of a cup that seems to resemble a chalice. The investigators reported that the shooter went through a narrow opening near the window, nothing was taken from the house and the intent for the sudden murder was yet unknown police believed that it was simply from a whim of one of the cult's members.
Several people went to Aria's funeral both William's friends and hers, she had many friends as she was a friendly girl which charmed many people and expressed their condolences towards William even going as far as donating for the young man's future saying that things would get better.
Fake.
A better future? What use is a future if Aria is not there! That's what William thought. That they were all deceitful liars expressing fake condolences, he clenched his fist tightly to the point that it bled and bit his lips also to the point of bleeding. He knew that they really did care but his clouded mind got in the way of his rational thinking and pinned the blame on the visitors who only wanted to pay respects.
William stood in front of a stone slab- Aria's gravestone in silence, his eyes devoid of light and the rain drizzled down his face but he paid it no mind he crouched down and caressed the gravestone with care and as he did he remembered the face of his beloved as when he stroked her cheeks with affection she would lay her face in his palms, rain? or tears continued flowing down William's face incessantly.
Many thoughts ran through William's head such as revenge but no matter how much he thought about it revenge is useless what can he even do with such a frail body? and revenge will not bring Aria back. He came to one conclusion.
"Let's Die"
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The city at night is beautiful, with the absence of stars it's view was devalued it doesn't change the fact that the night city lights were glistening with color and life people were drinking, some were arguing and some were having fun in their own way it truly was quite a spectacular city and somewhere far from the city lies a large bridge, that when at the top you can observe all the city had to offer, William watching the hustle and bustle from up above.
Of course not anyone can climb the bridge and it is strictly off limits, but William skillfully eluded the guards watching over the bridge and managed to climb at the top.
His eyes, still with the absence of light looked at the city one last time
"I'll join you soon Aria"
He said as he climbed on the railing that separated him and the huge fall that awaited him.
"wooo...woooo"
Death is scary, every human being is aware of that even if you tell yourself that you are prepared to die your body will instinctively try to avoid death as much as possible. William inhaled and exhaled as he prepared himself to jump over.
"hup!"
As he tried to jump a dazzling light appeared from the distance, William put his palms to cover his eyes by instinct and what followed the light were silhouette of various creatures that are not native to earth, beasts that can only be seen in media with fantasy were seen falling through the sky as soon as the light stopped the endless torrent of monsters that were falling also stopped.
William was surprised at the fantasy-esque like event that was happening before his very eyes but dismissed it
"I'll be dying soon anyway"
Once again he prepared himself to jump but was once again interrupted by a sudden translucent box that appeared in front of him
[S-U-R-V-I-V-E]
"Huh?"