"Devil weapons were once thought of as nothing more than myths in the cloud district," Shiori says, her attitude shifting into one of honed curiosity. "However records of these weapons appearing have increased in recent days."
"So what are they exactly? A weapon from a devil?" I ask
"Well, it's the soul of a dead devil... A formed mass, that joins together into a weapon. However, they can only be made when another devil slays a devil." She pauses contemplating, "Hey, where, and when exactly did you find this?"
"At our campus." He pauses, desperately trying to grasp his fleeting memories. "As for the when... I believe it was early morning, like 5 in the morning. I remember stumbling into it on my usual morning walks-"
"Wait five in the morning? Didn't I see you then?" I interjected, the memory of meeting him was still fresh in my mind. I often refer to that moment in my mind. Yet every time I try and recall the moment, fragments of it become lost to me, as if it were nothing more than corrupted data.
"Saw you? No, I never did, sorry" he confirmed my suspicion. "Anyhow, it was early morning. I saw something shiny so I picked it up... Only upon closer expectation it was a dagger."
"Anything else happened then?" Shiori interrogated
"Well..."
Three hours earlier... Akira's perspective
Sun beaming, it's still early to be at school, but theirs nothing to do around here! Nothing but an abandoned campus. I wonder how Nicola is doing... I wander around the campus aimlessly, soaking up all the delights of being an early bird. That's when I see it... A dagger, its glorious colour the same as the blood moon. I picked it up, wondering, pondering. What could such a beautiful dagger like this; doing in the middle of nowhere? Storing it safely in my bag I wander around some more aimlessly. As I was making one more lap around the city, a man suddenly stopped me.
"Hey there cutie!" He yelled
"I'm a guy."
"Oh..."
The man stepped back, appalled by the realization of what he was doing. However, it seemed there was one goal he was absolutely set on regardless of my gender. He pulls a gun from nowhere, pointing it towards me. In utter panic, I ran
Bang!
I felt it penetrate me, the sudden burning heating up. The blood gushed, spewing forth from my wound. Why now? I had so much—no, too much to live for. It's okay... Huu~ Breath, that's it breath. Haa~ Huu~ In. Haa~ Out.
I close my eyes, Huu~ It hurts. It's cold. Am I even alive? Haa~ Even breathing has become impossible. Ha~ Dead...
Gasp~
I live... No. I look around. A mix of confusion and fatigue hitting me like a bullet to my side, wait, a bullet to my side? I feel my side, no bullet. For no reason, no reason. I grab my bag, finding the dagger. I did not know why, yet I felt a connection.
An intense feeling. It was cracked, only partially. It's a small chip at best. Why was it cracked? Was this the reason I didn't die? Maybe it was just an odd feeling.
I continued walking until I saw a man... It was that same man. He noticed me, and I ran. I died. I woke up once more, the sun beaming. I checked the knife once more, and another crack, building from the previous. Confirmed, the knife was the reason I came back to life. The fear and shock suddenly sets in. Did I die? But then at the same time; I didn't. It was all too confusing to bear. I walk ahead—only to get hit by an oncoming truck.
A couple of hours later.
School has yet to start. I'm still early. I chat with some friends. Yet in the corner of my eyes, I see a familiar silhouette. Nicola? And some strange girl? Is he in trouble? That girl looks too young to be his mother, and they don't even look alike! Maybe he is in trouble! I follow him, wanting to ensure his safety. Following him to a deserted alleyway, he and that girl appear to be fighting. With pure fear gnawing at me, I ran. Running towards them, I yell for Nicola. He turns around confused.
I awaken once more, behind them. They were a couple of steps from the alleyway. Fear and panic were all thrown aside for nothing but pure confusion. I stood there dumbfounded. Did I die? To what? There was nothing there? All these deaths start weighing heavily on my mental. As it seems, there are forces outside of our control. And it all starts with this dagger. Yet I have no clues to understanding its powers. If only there was at least one, just one person who knows more about this than me.
"Grim reapers don't usually have names," I overheard. It's that strange girl. Is she a grim reaper? As in death? Do those even exist in the real world? Well regardless, if weapons that bring people back from the dead exist, then surely grim reapers can exist too. Death, every time I die, time rewinds. As if I can no longer die. She has to know something about this knife, about this power, about dying. As of now, she's the only chance I have.
I run towards her, yet I feel her presence becoming apparent. I see something. Things are moving in slow motion, what is this? I see the girl turn around, a paranoid face fueling her scythe, cleanly cutting my head off. Suddenly time continued. I was a couple of steps away. What is this? Was that a vision? If I touch her right now, I'll die? I followed close by, ensuring I didn't become noticeable. It worked out. Yet what I witnessed was bizarre. Nicola places his chunky headphones on. His eyes whiten, a halo slowly forming, crowing his head. His skin with visible streaks of thunder embedded on his skin. He became a monster!
Present.
"And that's the story. " Akira recounted.
"Wow, that... was something. " I remarked.
"So a dagger, that can rewind time, and grant visions of the future?" Shiori summarized. "A devil weapon, powers derive from the devil that die. However for two powers to be embedded in a blade... Something bad must be happening. Two—no, three devils roaming the earth district. that's gonna be a problem for both us and everyone above and below."
"A weapon that can see the future... reminded me of a game I played. In any case, you could help us with those visions!" I added. Shiori with no word stands up, determined. "Where are we going?"
"Well to—"
The school was positively bustling with students, frantic and panicked, to calm and collected. The walls were repetitively painted white bricks, with aged dirt resting on them. Thousands of people all wandering, going about their business. With no knowledge of the danger that will meet them.