1 Chapter 1 - Forsaken
"I had that dream again."
"The one where you died?"
"Yeah, that one. With the… 'indescribable'..."
"Were you not scared?"
"Of course I was, but why would that stop me?"
After all, it was only a dream. Right?
———————
"Ever since the Great War with the Great Daenstarian Alliance and the Holy Church of Liate. The council has settled the world in a peace treaty. As the Angels of this world had all left or had been hidden, the people who remained took charge and began changing the world with the development of technology-" the teacher ended her endless speech on history by giving a glare at me, as I continued to stare outside, at the few students who continued to mess around on the yard even after the lunch break.
The teacher, Miss Williams as we knew her, cleared her throat and spoke up "Gabriel, can you pay attention to class."
Miss Williams narrowed her eyes at me through her black-rimmed glasses, resting upon her slightly pointed ears showing the facets of a half-life, the vast majority of the Full Elves were slaughtered during the holly wars 98 years back.
As I looked towards the teacher I could see her subtly flinch, a sight I was accustomed to, yet annoyed me nonetheless. "What you're teaching us is wrong," my words were dull and carried a tone that was deep yet tired. The teacher frowned her eyes and was about to speak back up before I cut her off, "The peace treaty was signed 2 years after the war after our god had fallen in order to save everyone. So the battles still continued after the point you said they ended."
I questioned myself how I knew this, then I remembered the history book on the desk I sat on, 'I must have read it somewhere here.'
History ended shortly after that. The final task before we would be allowed to leave back home would be Form, the series of registers, questions and quiet reading went undisturbed and normal. The few people taking the time to instead catch up with their friends or sneaking on their phones and texting others.
As the 30 minutes passed in quick succession, Mr Liviston looked up from the newspaper he was reading and spoke up, "Oh, I forgot to mention, you have a new classmate coming in tomorrow-" the Final bell of the day buzzed before the teacher could finish the statement, the class filing out in under 10 seconds.
The walk home was uneventful, as always, the sun was still out, only by the time I had reached the house had the sun reached the tips of the tallest buildings. It created the illusion of nightfall while the day was still young.
Testing the door showed it to be locked, the normal, it showed his 'aunt' would be out. Both of my parents had died when I was young, so I lived with my mother's best friend: Clare. She was hardly home though, working a lot of the time.
I chose to sleep in place of Studying, a common activity. So, once again I took two sleeping pills and waited until I was tired enough to fall asleep…
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The Void was the worst part of the sleep. The infinite and endless blackness devoid of all. No air, no lifeforms. Even the lack of a vacuum and the feeling of death. Simply: the lack of. I was suffocating for eternity, yet no time passed before I was somewhere else altogether.
The air was thick, yet breathable even if just barely, the only sound was the clanking of chains, hushed whispers of no words that were spoken. The howl of the winds that carried entropy and fog across the inky blacks and silver hues of colour. The indescribable beings that stood there. Its eyes were too large and too many all with too many pupils in too many colours. The infinite and endless eyes that stretched out onto limbs longer than moons, than worlds yet as thin as string wrapping around the endless nothing and pulling it closer devoting all in a colour darker than a Blackhole.
It looked towards me then, showing its dreamless eyes, as black as the void itself and bone in place of flesh.
And it smiled.
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The morning that I woke up, sweat dripped down my face, and the scent and the sickening taste of iron and blood in my mouth, 'damm I must've bitten my tongue while sleeping.' I began the daily morning routine of showering, getting changed and leaving the house, foregoing breakfast as the taste of iron still hung in my mouth even after brushing my teeth.
Still haunted by my dream, the endless void still lurking beyond my vision, and the feeling of entropy that still clung to my flesh, even after the shower, made my skin crawl.
The train to school came earlier than expected, and the ride there had no exciting events. The rattle of the train and the sound of the music being played through my headphones were the only sound to be heard.
Downing two tablets as I left the train settled the headache beginning to form, and rubbing my eyes settled the ever-present itch that was always there. The class was lively, as usual, the classroom a mess of talking, throwing items or simply open mocking. I received none, however, all people kept their distance from me. It was understandable, I understood completely, the deep rings beneath my eyes made me look like a racoon, and my hair being pure white did little to settle people's nerves. And that's not including the episodes of sun-psychotic rage, paranoia, delusions, hallucinations… the list goes on.
I sat on my allocated chair, a space near a window, and closed my eyes, resting my head upon my arms for a moment of silence- the bell rang then, Mr Livinston entered the class, newspaper in hand and fiddling with the glasses on his face all while not trying to spill his coffee.
Once everyone had settled down in their sears the teacher began announcements, "The new Student will be here soon, I'm sure they will introduce themselves on their own, also I'll be needing a volunteer for Student Leader by the end of the week."
The knock on the door signified the end of the teacher's announcement. "Gabriel, sit up." Forcing myself up, I followed the teacher's request, the few snickers in the class were quickly hushed with a stare from the teacher. "Come in." As the door opened, in walked a girl. I could admit, she was a pretty person, very pretty. Something that reminded me of one of my old dreams. I closed my eyes again, eyes closed in bliss as the girl walked further into the classroom.
Visions I never wanted to begin started to form, the same girl, with pure white and feathered wings. An Angel. Opening one eye, I watched the girl give her introductions, pulling her black hair, with a few strands of silver, behind her ears as she smiled and began to speak, "Hi, I'm Izreala, but feel free to call me Reala."
The door opened shortly after,
I forced my eyes to close even tighter but the visions would just keep forming, again and again, would I see the same girl, sometimes with wings, sometimes without, as an animal, a bird. An Angel.
R̷̡̢̛͕̣͓̩̜̞̜͍͙̜͎̙̟̜̥̫̦̮͉͓̫̣̖̻̹̣̯͎̙͖̮͉̲̊̇̋̚͠͝Ę̸͖̺̳̩̝̫̯͚̜̟̜̖̮̳͓̟̘̲̩̃́̂̽̄̓̍̋̂́͐̓̽́̀̓̅̐̉͑̒̓̋̀̚̕͘͝͠ͅM̵̧͔͇̫͍̟̱̹̘̼͍͉͍̜͎̬̻͛̓̽̓̽͊͐͐̒̋̓̀̎̿̈́͒̓́͆̋̊̅̄̊̈́̍̾́̊̈͂̈́͝͠͝͠È̵̢̧̛̛̠̜͕̞̝̪͇̦͔̪͉͈̓́͋͂͑̓̈́͒̽́͂͂̔͑͆͛́̉̈̀̅͊̆͗̌̚̕͘͝͝͝͝M̶͓̠͇̼̭̲̣̦̘̃̃̀͊̄̐͋͒̀̒̅̽̋̆̄̽̍͒̔̈́̌̚͝B̸͈̱̣͖̳͖̱̖͎̂̌̋͂̄̒̆̚͘͜͠Ȩ̵̢̨̧̛̺̹̫͔͔̺̻̠̖͎̮̮̖͍̬̮̼̻̙̤̟̗̪͈̻̮͙̖̭̫̙͎͈͓̼̗̓̇̈̅͒͛͌́̑̒́̌̃̅̒͗̈̈́̃̐̂͂́͆͑̓͂͂͊̽̿̕̕͜͝͠͝͝ͅR̷̡̢̙͕̗̼͈̝̻̰͕̗͓̦̺̠̲̤̺̟̥͎̜̳͓̳̣̫͕͇̺̗̫͈̰̯̟͈̀͌͋̔͋̒͛̉̈́̑̽́̄͒̋͒̈́̈́̒͛͝͝ͅ?
Y̸̢̧̨̡̖̭̙̻̗̪̼͉̰̟̠̭̼͕͚̣̪̩̫̟̙̱̼̫̜̥͓͙̭͎̩̱̟̬̹͈͖̜͖̳̒̽͆̽̾͒̔̽̋̆̿͌̅̉͆̒͑͘̕͝ͅÒ̵̢̥̗̜͙͖͉̳̙̼͚̩̙̳̬͕̭̙̭͔̣̥̣̯̼͂̽̈́̏͐̎̈́́̌̎̊̉̀́̿̃͑̄̈̽̓͌̒̇́͒̂̊͊́͘̕̕̚͜͜͜͠ͅỪ̸̖͍̻̙̝̺̰̠͇̭̞͎̅̊̔͆͋̈̒̈́̆̌̾̐͗̆̔͋͊̀̐̓̈́̚͝͠͝ ̷̡̧̧͇͚̹̥͓̼̖̣̙͙̱̺̮͙̟͎̮̮̙̖̩̖̭̜͖̭͔͖̻̻̳͒̉͆̋̀͑̃̏̂͛̅͑̉͜͜͠͝Ṙ̵̪͕̺̪̝͙̹̹̯̣͖͇̖̯͔̘̟̤̙͙͔̪̝̹̦̪̥̘͈͚̫̯̣̭͓̒̾̿̿̊̍̂̈́͐̒̉͌̇̚̚͜͝Ḙ̸̡̪̠̲͇̦͕͉̽͒͑͆͌͘̕͠͝M̸̧̧̡̛̠̰̲̜̹̮̺̥͈̣̞̣̜̟̻̝̟̰̝̫͔͍̪̺̲̭̰͚̻͍͍͍͈̂̾͋́̉̈̑̔͒͒́́͋̎̽̓̕͠͠Ę̵̧͚̦̲̠̤̖̈́͗̌̇̎̈́̍̀͑͊̒́̑̃̇̈́̌̕͝͝͝M̵̧̨̨̨̠͓̼̩̪̬͖͙͉̘̰̞̘͙͍̦͖͕̫͂̋͛̃̅͊́̔͛͘͜͝B̷̡̡̧̢̡̳͎͎̝̤͉͉̮͓͓̰̝̤͍̭̼̞̟̱̞̮͈͔͖̣͚̞̬̠̼̻͊̒̈́̊͜ͅͅȨ̴̱̻͎̦͉̫̘̹̥͉̰͔̰̹̥̯͔̲̘̇̔̈́́ͅR̷̨̖̗̟̜̥̻͎̟̅̀͘͝ ̶̨̛̠̮̫̺͖̱͈̟̮̟͉̤͉̗͎̩̗͚̝͕̩̰͚͔̱̟̲̮̺͍͎̳̣͍͎̳͇̼̀̓̋̆͗͋͛̽̓̋̅̿͗̒͌̀̆̅̃́͒̋͋̒̃͗́̚̚̚͘̚͜͜͝ͅḐ̶͕̺͙̝̟̤͔̺͕͙́͐͒̃̏̽́̉̈́̑̅̽̒̓̐͛̍͂̉͊̑̿͐̽̈́̈́̔̒͂͘͘͜͝͠͝͝͠͝ͅỎ̴̢̧̧̢̧̡̩̘͕͚̥͉̲̬̘̪̟̖̫̦͚͎̬̹͔̈̍͗̉͂͋̍̒͆̌̍̎̂́͗̓́̀̽̈́̆͋͐̎̿̈́̐̃̒͗̀̎̕̕͜͝ͅN̶̨̨̨̼̹̳͉̲͕̤͇̻̬͕͕̦͇̩̯͕͖̫͉̗͍̤̘̜͍̝̲̦͉͈̜̭̖̏͋̎̀̾̏̂̀̇̀̈́́̄̊͗̿̎̔͜͝͝͝ͅͅ'̵̖̼̹̟̘̭̞̟̳̖̼̹͔͔̃͌͆̋͆͝T̴̖͕̟̺̫̰̖̠̬̦̠͍͕̹̜̟͎̥̖̪̠̺̲͖̯̒̓̊̈́̃̔͗͆͗̾̑̋̆͊͂̽͑̓́̋͛̈́͛̌̄̽̊̐͘̕͝ ̷̢̜̖̹̤̭̠͖̏̉̋͆͆̊̑̿Y̸̨̧̡̨̡̧̡̛̛͙͎̖̬͕͇͈̗̬̥̭̪̱͓̟̬̺̯̻͖̜̟̙̙̱͓͍̫̖͈̳̅́̌̿̃͒̊̊̃́̇̉̃̉̋͑́͂́̉̅̊̏̓̏́̌̍̊̓͘̚̚͘͝ͅͅO̴̢̢̨̢̘̥̳̳̟̰͍̦͉̞̥̻͔͉̞͒̈̄̀̋̃̾̈́͛̏͛͛̋̈́̄̏͑̒̎͑͆̓͊̈́̎̋͜͝Ư̶̛̫͖͈̤̍́̀̋̋̏̿̀̒̔̒̿͆͑͗̍́͑̔͛͌͐̐̃̇̓̂̊͒͗̔̐̒̂͘͘͠͠?̶̢̨̨̨̧̡̼̝̦̲̹̦̠͓̲̦̞͔̲̯͇̰͙̫̞̼̻͉̬͍̜͎̙͔̖͚̞̺͆́̆̈́̍̉̈́̄̈͑͆̃͆͒̈́͛͛̿̀̀͋̃̓̓́͌͊̽̎͊͗̽̏̂̕̚̕̕͜͝͠͝
P̶̴̨̧̡̡̛̲͎͕͍̙̖̳̱͖̺̫̞̯̬̮̯̹̗͚̞̉̍͑̔͆̔́̔̈́͗͗̔̈́ͬ̓̓͑͑͐̿̌̓̇̃̐͌̾̕̕͘͘͜͜͜͠͠͝͠͝͠͠ ̷̴̵̢̨̢̡̧̛̼̗̬̩͔̞͙̼̳͉̰̬̼͓̯͇̣̠̙̟͎̺̞̥̮̙͇̬͎͎͓̟̻͎̥̲̖͍͙̗̠͚̙̭̹͈̙̖̦̞̍̐̋̏͑̋͐̊̃͆̃ͭ̄̈́̍̀̓̔̂̍ͣ́̅̇̂́͆̒̂̓͆͒͐̆̑̉̒̅͐̾̚̕͜͠͝͠ͅĘ̷̶̵̴̸̨̧̢̛̛̛̛̜͚̜̗̗͚͉̱̬̖͖̰̼͔̬͖̞̹͔͚̫̲͍̬̖͔͕̙͔̠͖̤̗͍̬͔͇̠̖̞̝̹̫̫͇͉͈̩̑̋̏̓͐͊̇̆͂̍͋ͪ̒͋ͩ̐̓̅̉̆̈́͛͆͋̄ͣ͗́̔̅͐̓͗̃̓̏̾̇̈́̒͌ͨ͂́̍́̍͆̉͒̍͒̓̆̽͊̈́̈́̈́͘̚̚̚̕̕̚̚͘͜͜͜͜͝͠͝͝͠ͅ ̶̷̵̶̵̢̨̨̛̗͕̺̤̺̺͈̫̣̞̖̱̻̣̗̙̪͉̠̗̻͚̫̩̣̟̲̟̺̙͖̰͇͚̞̻̝͔̥̠̣͈͕͎̹̹͕̋͑͌̓̓̔͌͆͐̈́͛̆̈́ͧ̊̄̋̎̊̌͊̽̉̊̑̎͗̀̉̾̀̽͑̑͒͒ͩ̄̌͆̑̅̍̍̑͂̓̊ͧ̊͑̾̽̈́ͤ͆̂̆̀́̄́̽̾́̈́̊͊̈͆̊͛̈́̋̏̍̂͒̈́̈́͘̕̕͘̕͘͘̚͘͜͝͠͝͠R̵̴̵̵̷̡̡̢̡̨̺̜̳͙̥̰̝̥͙̙̯̘̝̲̟̬̹͖̗̭͓͔̣̯͚̭͍̲͚͕̹̼̭̹̠̦͈̙̪͙̟̥͎̗̯̩̗̮̠̫̲̖̠̪̰̲̠͕̺͒̌͐̎̈͋͗̋̽̂̾̊̾͆̓̔̿̾ͪ̽͗̈́̊́̒̈́͆͂ͫ̀́͑̓̓̔̒̐̀̈́͋͋͗̐̽̀̃ͬ̎̄̎̆̅̔́̈̅̽̓̀̀̏͂̾ͬ́͋̋̾̋͊̾̀͘̕͘̕̚͜͜͠͠ ̵̵̷̷̴̢̢̨̨̳͈̲͚̗̮͖̮̫̳̫̺̤͙̠̦̟̮̺̜̻̙͕̞̰̱̝̳̟̙̠̮̯̖̖̹̥̩̯͓͍̻̠͚͍̯̰͉͂̅̐̑̋̇͋͛̀̀̈͊̉͊̀̀͋̾͑̈́̍̈́͛͆͒ͯ͗̀͌̓̌́̃̎̿̌̉̎͂ͬ́̌̊͆̅̑͋̈́̀ͭ̈́̉͊̎͐̐̍̉̏̀̀̉̍ͫ̆͑̑͐̿̅͑̃̓̑̃͊̀͊̉̅̚̚̚̚̕͜͠͝͝͠͝͝͝͝ͅ҉̴̡̢̡̨͕͎̬̦͇̥͖͙̗͕̪̫͓͖̪͈̑̎̈́̒͒̈́̾̚͠C̷̢̨̡̯̙̳̝̯̠̹̮̟͙͉̻̭͎̺͍̲͓͉̜̭̺̟̿̽̃́̋̎̑̿̌͐̆̃̈́͘͝ͅ ̵̴̵̢̢̛̮̟̝̻̟͙̗̪̘̟̯̱͙̫͚̠͖̼͔̠̼̯̹̦̭͓͉̠̖͉̗̤̦͔͓̺̩̹͚͎̳̗̿̋̈́̇̿̒͆̀̂̎́̂̒̋͛͌͆̆̿̂̆̽ͤ͐́̓̂͆́͌̊̈́̍͂̒̅̔͊̄̀̈́͒̽ͩ͆̏̎͆̏̓͊͐͛̀̈́͘̚̕͜͠͠͝͝͝I̵̷̵̶̵̶̸̴̧̧̨̢̧̨̞͚̘̲̥̯̣̱̱̗̫̜̱̝̱̻̦͉̯̥̗̜̗͈̦̠̭͓̲̻̲̘̦͖̙̣͍̝̮͙̼̻̣̰͚̱̤̰͚̬͔̗̪̰̰͔͈̤̼̪̺̟͓̪̠͉̫͔̯̦̰͔̜͉͓͙̥͇̰̭̱̺̘̳̦̣̹̝̟̳̻͍̣͙̗͈̮̘̹̩͔̬̍̀̀̈̇̍̈́ͣ́͛́̑̒̈́̎͐͊̆ͫ͑̈́̒̀̍͋̉̔̆̈́̀̓̊̊ͯ͛̀̍̈́̌ͤ̍̆͂̄̏͑̀̑͋̍̓̀̽̈́͐͑͗̈̓͐ͫ̆́̎̃͌͊̒ͥ̀͆͗͆̀͐͌̏̈͊̓͂̈̉̑̃͂͆̑ͫ̎̒͌̾̑͆͐̏͐̌̈̑͋͗̚̚͘͘̚͘̕̕͜͜͜͜͜͠͝͝͝͠͠͠͝͠͠͝͝͝͝ͅ ̷̛̙̃̎͑̀͒̀̂̕̕V̷̸̷̶̴̢̤̞͍͓͕̰̝͇̱͓̱̱͖͍͔̗͈̦̹̪̦̣͖̳̼̹̩͉́̉͆̏̒̃̉̒̋͗͛ͮ̇͂̉̿̽̏̽̊́̂́̊̀̉̓̏̾̑̂̾̊̅̈́̈́ͫ̑ͫ͑̍̈ͪ̇̀͐́̈́̋̾̿͆̕̚͝͠͝ͅͅ ̸̵̷̧̧̧̝͔̳͚͇͚͓̩̳̜̪̱̗̬͎͉̠͉̰̺͙͈̥͍̹̎̈́̌̅ͩ̆̈́̾̏̂̒̇̒͛͋͊͑͗̀̀̒̋͐̔̏̓͒̇́̈̔͊͂͛̈͌́̒̿̕͢͠͝A̴̷̶̸̶̢̢̧̡̛̟̤̱͚̞͖̫̹̭̼̞͎̬͓͔̱͎̗͉̩̟͖̗̭͚̼̙͖̲̟̰̗͇͍̹̻̮͈̖͚͉̟̫͐̒͒̍̑̄̎̑̉̈́ͩ̎͛͆̇ͦ͒͑̄̓̋͊̾̽̂͐̉̐̉͆̆ͮ͒ͥ͋̈̾̌̕̕̕̕̕͜͜͝͝ͅͅ ̸̸̶̨̧̢̛̥͔̪͙̖͖̯͖̱̜͉̠̳̩̣̼̲͈̙̟̙͙̞̦̙̤͖̥͓̞͇̫̤̭͖͇͇̬̘͇̫̺͗̍́͒̌͂̈́̒͂̓ͬ̆̃̈́̌̉̍̈́ͨ̊̕͜͜͜͠͝͝ͅL̷̸̶̵̷̡̡̧̧̡̛̛̻̗͓̝͓͙̩̟̪̫̠̦̣̘͖̯͚̰͓̺͍͙͖̘̪͔̮̠͇͍̬͉̗̻̭̤͓̲͔̰͙̪̔͆̇́̈́̈́̔̏̋͗̆̒̈́̌̀́͑͑͛͆ͪ͑̆̑͆̒̊̊̎̇̿̈́͛ͯ̒͌̿͌͛̎̉̆̈́̅̈́̒͌̀̽ͣ̐̈̈̈́̏̄̾̏̂̄͗́̀̒͆̎̃̀͆̿̚̕̚̚͜͢͠͠͠͝͠
For the second time today, I tasted the blood in my mouth. It seemed like the girl had finished her introductions by the time I woke from my trance.
Still blurry-eyed, my eyes slightly bloodshot, I watched the girl take a seat in the only available seat in the classroom.
The one next to mine.
