In a world where everything is driven by magic, life's no different from hell for those who were born ordinary. These people are labeled as the forsaken ones, since they haven't received the blessing of the gods, it meant their existence isn't acknowledged.
Unless the person is born into a rich noble family, they can live a decent life. But for those unfortunate, it takes an iron gut to make a living and survive each day.
"STOP RIGHT NOW, YOU DAMN SON OF A BITCH!"
At Gehenna, an underground city where all the forsaken and criminals reside, there's not a day without guards chasing down people on the streets.
"EAT MY ASS!" Sorin, a young man pursued by the guards, took a turn into the narrow alleyways, trying to outrun the guards behind him, only to be met with a dead end.
"Shit!" He clicked his tongue, then looked behind; the guards were already there and had cornered him.
"Shit indeed." One of the guards said arrogantly, he slowly approached Sorin with his palm wide open. "Now hand over the ring, son."
Sorin sighed and pulled out the ring from his pocket, he stole the item as for his client's request, though he doesn't have much of a choice now that's he's cornered. "You mean this thing?"
"Yeah, I need you to hand that over!" The guard demanded, but as he tried to swipe it off Sorin's hands, the boy threw it up to the rooftop and smirked at the guards.
"YOU PIECE OF!—"
"Whoopsie~" Sorin skillfully run up on the walls and made it to the rooftop to take back the ring into his pocket, "Ha! Try catchin' me now suckers!" And he slipped away from them, like he always do.
"ARGHHH!" The frustrated guard punched the wall and turned to his allies, "Don't let him get away!" They all started running in attempt to capture Sorin, but they soon lost the slippery thief.
After making it pass through the guards, Sorin went ahead to his client's agreed schedule to meet and trade. It's somewhere at the southern part of Gehenna near a local bar, Sorin took off his mask and finally got to breathe in the freshly poluted air of Gehenna. "Haa... smells like shit as usual." He shakes his head and sat at a free chair outside the bar.
Soon, a cloaked guy appeared and stood before him. It was his client, holding a little sack of gold coins to trade for the promised ring.
"You got the thing?" The client asked.
"I sure do." He showed the ring and waved it to his face, but when the client tried to take it from him, Sorin pulls it back and demanded for his compensation. "Pay first, pal."
"..." the client fell silent for a moment, hesitant to pay Sorin. "How would I know if that ring's fake?"
"How would I know if you'll run away after taking this ring?" Sorin smirked, his tone mimicking the client. "What's so special about this stupid ring anyway?" He asked.
"I-It's just some engagement ring... the bitch ran away and pawned it."
"Woah, didn't know there was such a tragic love story behind this thing." Sorin chuckled, he heard a grunt and got the payment. "Just give me back the ring."
"Heh, you're very much welcome." As Sorin gave the ring, the client quickly left in a hurry. Suddenly feeling suspicious of the guy, he checks the little bag and found rocks molded into the shape of coins. "HEY! STOP THAT SCAMMER!"
When the guy heard Sorin's voice raising, he made a run for it. Though he didn't expect Sorin to catch up to him and whispered behind his ear, "Ya think you can get away with your bullshit?"
"ACK!" The scammer fell on the ground, his face buried on dirt. Sorin was nice enough to pull him by the hair and pick his face up the ground, "Pay me with real money, ya asshole! Or I'll have you paying in another way."
"Alright, alright! I'll pay you, just let me get up here." And as the scammer got back on his feet, Sorin's eyes was locked on him to make sure he won't run away. "Now pay up." He demanded, but the jerk brushed his hand on Sorin's face, casting an ice spell to freeze his face as he ran away again. "Hah! Fuck you."
"Argh, damn it!" Half of Sorin's face got frozen, he fell on his butt and felt his face go numb from cold ice. "Shitty mages!" He yelled and laid on the side walk from pain.
Luckily for Sorin, one of the passersby was a familiar friend and approached him. "Rin! What happened to you!?"
"P-Perdita? I-Is that you?" His friend helped him up the floor.
"You're always so reckless! What did you get yourself into today!?"
"A client I had turned out to be a scammer, shithead froze my face... and I think I might die with half a frozen brain."
"No way! I won't let you die today." The way Perdita said that line made Sorin crack a smile despite his numb face.
"Sweet, are you finally gonna admit your feelings to me before I die?"
"Like hell I will! You still got a lot of debt to pay, so you better recover and keep the money rolling!" And so they went inside the local bar and got themselve a table. Perdita's also capable of using magic with the fire affinity, so she was able to warm and melt Sorin's frozen side of the face.
"Sheesh, my debts keep climbing higher in your list." Sorin frowned, his face fully recovered without a scratch.
Perdita rolled her eyes, "Is that really your way of saying thanks to someone who just saved you?"
"Hm." He shrugs.
"You know what? You suck as a mercenary. That job will someday be the end of you." Perdita snorted, slapping Sorin by the ears.
"Fine, I'll treat 'ya to some good stuff so quit talking down on me." Sorin waved to a bartender, gestured to give them two mugs of beer.
"And how can your broke ass pay for that?"
"You can add that to my tab." He grinned, disappointing Perdita once again. The two enjoyed sharing a drink together, though Perdita soon excused herself due to some personal business she has.
Sorin stayed in the bar a little longer, staring the empty mug as he touch the side of his face that got frozen. Recalling how it felt to be struck with magic. "...if I had power like that..." his mind started wondering.
Even though most people possess magic, not all are met with good fate. Some end up lurking in the dirty parts of Gehenna causing a ruckus here and there. But they were still considered better than the forsaken, and Sorin hated thinking about that social heirarchy.
"Ugh! Whatever." He sat back and sighed, now his mind wanders about where he's going to sleep that night. Since he didn't have any money on him, he thought about snatching somebody's wallet until he saw a girl surrounded by a couple of goons.
"Ohh, what do we have here..." he assessed that the girl must've come from a rich family based on her fancy dress alone. With his sharp eyes, he also caught sight of her jewelry that must've cost a fortune. He grinned and set his eyes on the money.
"Hey there, you seem lonely by yourself." One of the goons tried making a move on her, but the girl does not respond. And they still continued to pester her.
Sorin dived into the scene and went to her rescue like some prince charming. "Hey, quit bothering her! Can't you see she's uncomfortable?"
"Huh?" The goons got distracted and scorned at Sorin, "Go mind your own business, bud. We're tryna have a good time here." One of them cracked his knuckles threateningly.
"You see, she is my business! We were supposed to meet up in this place, isn't that right my lady?" Sorin held the girl by the hand, and he flinched when she turned to look at him.
"Of course, it's so nice to see you again." She smiled, but the way she said that bothered Sorin because her eyes were wrapped in bandages.
"S-See? I'd appreciate it if you guys would leave us alone now." He still tried to get rid of the goons, but they remained persistent and hostile. "Oh yeah?" The goon stepped closer to Sorin, making it seem that a riot will soon happen.
"I told you boy, leave us alone with the lady." He muttered, the smell of his breath striking Sorin in the nose. "Ugh, didn't your mother taught you how to brush?"
"THAT'S IT, YOU ASKED FOR THIS!" As the goon threw his fist, Sorin ducked and striked the guy on the stomach bringing him down instantly. "OOF! G-GET THIS ASSHOLE!" It yelled, and soon barfed out all the beer he drank.
The goon's allies came to their friend's rescue and tried to get back at Sorin, but the riot became a bigger mess when some of the people in the bar got involved. Since everything had turned into a mess, Sorin slipped away from the bar, dragging the blind girl with him, and brought her to a nearby alleyway.
"Phew, those guys were out of it. Are you alright?" Sorin asked.
The girl tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled widely, "You sure know a way out of trouble mister, thanks for helping me out." When the girl was going to walk away, Sorin quickly put her to stop.
"Where do you think you're going, missy?" He smirked, holding her thin arm tightly. "Don't 'ya think you owe me a lil' sumthing after I helped you out of that mess?"
"Ohh, and here I thought there's still nice people out there."
"Hate to break it to 'ya, they don't exist around this parts anymore."
"Is that so..." The grin on her face suddenly turned eerie in Sorin's eye, he let goes of her and scorned. "Just hand me yer jewelry, and I'll let you off."
"And what if I don't?" She dared.
For a moment, Sorin realized he was intimidated by this little girl. What was he thinking? He thought to himself, snapping out of this unusual feeling. He hovered himself over this girl and acted tough, "Look, you're a lost little girl, alone with a grown man that brought you to some dark alley. Won't that get your knees shaking?"
Although he was trying to scare her, he was caught surprised when she held him by the waist and giggled. "Don't threaten me with a good time, mister. You don't know what I'm capable of." The way her hands were crawling up to Sorin's chest made him push her away.
"You freak!" He was completely baffled by her behavior, "For a blind girl, you don't seem like it at all." He stepped back into the alley, and the girl just creepily stood there, as if she's watching him behind her bandages.
"What, got your dick limped?" She laughed.
"You're not actually blind, are you?" Sorin started to suspect this girl as something dangerous, he grabs his pistol inside the bag hanging on his waist.
"I can't see anything..." she responded, her head following Sorin walking from one side to another. "...but I can see your soul moving."
"So you're a mage... you've got a weird affinity there." Sorin pointed the gun to her face, making sure he'd end things quickly before she can make any move. "I change my mind, go ahead and take your leave."
"Nah, I changed my mind as well." The moment she took a step towards Sorin, he pulled the trigger instantly and shot her right on the forehead.
The girl fell to the ground on her back, and as Sorin came close to check on her, his eyes widened as she grabbed him by the face while he screamed; "WITCH!"