The work day ends around 5 pm. He is bone tired, but nonetheless, he walks home. Arrives home fairly quickly for an odd reason. He feels like he is faster, but can't quite pinpoint why.
When arriving home, he prepared Emma's meal. Faintly remembering that he had promised her the cake. It was her birthday after all.
He steps into the living room, taking his phone out to call Cassie. She told him 8 o'clock. He only asked the location, and she hung up.
'Ah, she can be so snappy.'
Without a moment to waste, he got ready, grooming himself to the best of his ability.
He went out to the restaurant in his nicest outfit, which was ironically the same outfit he wore to his father's funeral.
Corvus stared up at the restaurant in a confused manner. The sign was decorated with light bulbs and bent metal to form their logo. Perhaps he...overdressed?
Inside, he found her waiting in a corner. Cassie waved at him and called him over.
"You look...nice. That outfit must not have been worn often."
Corvus grimaced. "The last time I wore it was for my father's funeral. So I guess you are right." A heavy weight was seemingly pressed down on the two. Cassie was quick to order when the waiter came around.
Before the conversation went any further, she pulled out a machine used to detect traces of ichor in humans. It was strange that she felt its presence, but he had never undergone the ascending process.
"It's strange...you reek of Ichor, but you have none."
Corvus smiled and crossed his arms.
"It's not very polite to tell people they reek. You however? You smell very sweet, you clearly spent some time picking out that perfume." Her cheeks reddened, but she couldn't lose sight of her suspicion.
Before they could begin their food however. The siren went off.
|THREE CATEGORY 1 FLEDGLINGS WILL BE DESCENDING IN DISTRICT 26, PLEASE EVACUATE TO YOUR NEAREST-
"They could have said that earlier." Cassie brandished her crimson javelins, her orange eyes gleamed brightly under the light of the dimming sun.
Four massive fledglings descended from the skies onto the streets below. They had been a tiny bit smaller than the gnarlings, but were still a force to be reckoned with. His eyes dimmed, and an empty realm lay before him...but something was missing. The large glass jar that was the core of the ascenders was gone, or perhaps it had never been there. He looked around, but the wide, endless expanse was barren. At least that's what it seemed at first. The sloshing sound of running water filled the space close to him, and his eyes grew wide as he peered into the murky liquid.
It felt...odd to him. His fingers scratched along his skin, as if something was wriggling wildly beneath it. He reached his fingers into the water, and out came a blade of lusterless black steel. The blade curved with a beautiful bend, ripples of lighter steel sprang from the hilt to the very tip.
A mighty roar echoed through the streets once more. The blade was there, its leather grip sticking tightly to his hand. Two words were etched into the hilt of the sword. [Death's Deliverance]
"That is sick!" Corvus couldn't contain his excitement. An elbow flew into his side, sending him tumbling several feet away.
"If you aren't going to fight them, then I will." A pouch of crimson javalins weaved themselves into existence. In a flash, the first fledgling fell, its titanic body shaking the street.
With no time to waste, he dashed in, and a slash of the blade was met with the claws of the creature. A second claw smashed him against a lamp.
"D-damn it.." His head fell, but the fire still burned. Dark sparks flew around his sword, contorting its size into a small dagger. With what little force he had left, the blade sank its fangs into the beast's paw. Green flames erupted from his skin, turning dusk into dawn for mere seconds.
Amazed, he patted his once-injured body to find no painful areas. The blood that once trickled from his mouth was nowhere to be seen. Death's Deliverance shone a dark green before shifting back into its katana form.
Brilliant lights swirled around him, the ground beneath him welcoming his touch as if he were part of the world. In the blink of an he vanished only to reappear before the fledgling. A slash split its stomach apart, intestines bursting through and covering from head to toe.
"Yuck.."
He glanced at Cassie, who was handling two other fledglings on her own. Her figure shone like a crimson wave, sending out sparks of death to cut down her opponents.
Corvus's nose twitched. The metallic scent of death lingered in the air. A sharp jab pierced his chest, blood staining his dishevelled white shirt. A muddled world covered his eyes with distant screams fading into the distance as the concrete cracked his kneecaps from the impact.
A heavy thud shook the ground beside him, two warm hands shook his body and incoherent yelling called out to him. But it was far too late for anything to pull him from the coming slumber.
"Is this...the end?" His voice croaked, finally followed by the cold embrace of Styx's water. 'Home..'
----
"HUFF HUFF"
He came back, the clock read 6 like before, the apartment had been bathed in darkness just like before. His feet smacked against the cold floor, the coffee was still sludgy and cold, but he was sure he had drank it before.
The bathroom light switched on, shadows clung to the craters of his face. Several skinny fingers tugged at his skin. The t-shirt flew off, and sure enough, the injury had also vanished.
'No ascended in this world could fix a wound like that...' He glared at himself in the mirror, pondering what could have happened.
"Cor...Are you there?" The weak voice called out again.
With a tray of food, he walked into the room and placed it before her. "I am here. Please eat...I must do something."
An icy claw gripped his heart, but not even the front door could stop his advance.