"May I assume that you'll be investigating?" The Legionnaire bellowed.
Johnny glanced back at me and I nodded. He cleared his throat, "I'll look into it, but after that, you're on your own."
"My gratitude." The Sledge stepped back, and so did his partner who had begun cleaning his hammer with a large red cloth.
From within the depths of his coat, Johnny retrieved a simple antique polaroid camera. With a click, he took a photo of the terrorist, pulling the white shiny paper from the tray. He waved it back and forth a few times in his gloved hand as he put the camera away. "Ready kid?"
I nodded, "Does it need to be developed?"
"Not for this." The picture shimmered like frosty glass before breaking apart into countless shimmering specks. Sparkling shards twisted and danced as they merged with a thin misty dome that had covered the space, and in a matter of moments, we found ourselves somewhere else in the Brilliance's mini district.
In the foggy street corner, we found ourselves standing next to a café. Non-descript gray figures made of ethereal gas laughed, drank and ate various unidentifiable objects. The glimmering sun made the strange, distorted bubble shimmer, cementing the true area we had to walk in, and reinforcing that this was an illusion. Johnny said nothing, pulling up an incorporeal chair. He diligently stared out at the bustling square, and finally our target came into view, his form perfectly rendered and recreated as I had seen him. However, now, a faint black and purple haze wrapped his skin, as if he had some sort of shield.
He wore a black canvas bag, shuffling toward the towering statue of Ah-Legoria in the center. People gave him a berth, recoiling as he drew near as if he had a foul, pungent odor— yet like me and Johnny, nobody seemed to notice him directly. The Sillianist tossed his hair over his shoulder, the shiny greasy locks tumbling off his forehead to reveal a sinister expression.
He turned his back to it, slumping down and leaning his head against the ornate base. Leaning back, he stared up at Ah-Legoria's pompous, confident smile. The Sillianist's expression warped, twisting into a furious mask filled with vitriol and spite. With fury in his eyes, he rummaged around in his bag, pulling out a small amethyst pendant with a complex silver symbol engraved on its surface.
His lips moved, yet no sound came out. Now that I thought about it, aside from the indistinct hustle and bustle, there was no sound at all. Johnny stared intently at the man's lips, and delayed by a second, an ethereal voice filled the space. "The augur of calamity, the deepest darkness bathed in hellfire, the Doomsayer of the Tenebrous World… bear witness."
As the pendant swirled with a purple light flecked with black streaks, the misty bubble trembled. The gray edges of the surrounding orb formed by Johnny's Icon tinted the same colors as the pendant, and the weight of a powerful gaze landed on my shoulders. Every hair on my body rose, my breath grew ragged, and my knees gave out. I clenched my heart, heaving rapidly as my eyes teared up. Fear pounded through my veins, tears welling in my eyes.
Then it was normal.
Johnny stood up, the chair scraping loudly. "Fuck." He paced back and forth, putting the cigarette to his lips and flicking on the lighter. It blazed and he quickly let out a few puffs, watching the Sillianist prepare his heinous act in the corner of his eye. The two Legionnaires' armor had turned off, only flicking back on as I slowly drew myself to my feet, the fear and adrenaline drowning out any pain I had in my shoulder.
They glanced at each other, having an inaudible conversation before focusing back on the Sillianist. We all were transfixed, beholden to watch the horrific act by the strange feeling wrapping our hearts. This time I restrained myself, its fake, the past. You can't change a thing.
The man set the bag down, fiddling with what I knew to be a bomb inside. People didn't even seem to notice, looking past as if he wasn't even there. He picked up a small black device, shuffling away from the statue, the bag now shoved in the shadowed lip of the base.
I desperately wanted to cry out, to warn them. My heart pounded in anticipation and my hands fidgeted at my sides, sweat slicking my fingers. I couldn't help but pace myself, joining Johnny as the man shuffled to the edge of the plaza.
He grinned a sick, twisted grin, his disheveled and uncared for teeth yellowed and stained, just like his heart. The Sillianists posture changed, getting ready to run, and my breath caught in my throat. He raised the detanator above his head.
It was silent, or perhaps my mind had tuned all else out.
With an inaudible click, a ball of white-hot radiance erupted from the center of the square, instantly eviscerating a mother and her child who had been admiring the statue. Their desecrated charred bodies streaked past my head, crashing through the window into the café beside me.
I flinched back as shrapnel and fragments of stone ripped by, phasing through my body in misty puffs. My eyes stayed transfixed, watching in horror as the nondescript gray figures were blown to pieces, crushed by flying rocks, or ripped to shreds by speeding shrapnel. Even if they had no form, I could imagine each and every face of horror as they met their end by a selfish, sick man.
As the man began to sprint, the cloud of smoke high in the sky, the world froze in time. The flying shrapnel hung in the air, the smoke refusing to ascend in the winds. The two Legionnaires stepped toward us. "Have you met with the Venerated?"
"Yes." Johnny took a long drag, his hand twitching at his side revealing an emotion I had never seen in him before now: true, unadulterated fear.
"This is a clandestine manner." The Sledge adjusted its bloodstained hammer, shifting its grip. "You may only report this to the Detective, and I must insist that you do posthaste."
Johnny nodded. "We were headed that way."
"Excellent." The Sledge nodded his appreciation as the misty world swirled in a vortex, merging with Johnny's coat once again. "I request you leave immediately; we must repair and purify the area. I must add that you take the pendant as well and deliver it to the Detective."
Johnny paused, staring at the glowing eyes of the Legionnaire. "Fine." He strode over to the headless corpse, rummaging into its robed pockets until he clasped the seemingly innocuous jewelry. As he strode toward the exit to the alley, I stepped up to the headless corpse, spitting on his gory stump.
With that I joined Johnny, keeping my distance with my gaze warily transfixed on the gem. "What is that thing?"
Johnny stared down at the pendant, a mix of complex emotions flickering across his face. His coat stirred, the surface churning and wriggling like misty worm. He fixed his gaze with mine. "The Doomsayer stirs."