First Blood Drawn
Lathen stood in the office staring wide-eyed at the red-haired woman covered in silver armor. Her face was hidden by a helmet that obscured most of her features except her eyes. The armor made her appear larger than she actually was causing Lathen to stare in awe.
"Aeneas had reached the last resting place of Lord Ajall. His soul was called out thus fated to meet this warrior crow," She asked in a gravelly voice.
"So who did Yash meet?" Easton asked.
The CEO placed his hands over his face embarrassed as he rubbed his forehead and sighed in frustration. Then he glanced at Aeneas.
"Unfortunately I can not reveal who Yash met, but Aeneas meeting the crow warrior would be a fun new design for the studio," Lathern explained.
Easton became animated and excited hearing the news. The CEO stared at Aeneas for some time as if he wanted to say something or something. But he was unable to open his mouth and ended up saying nothing more than merely sighing.
"So, where shall we start?" Easton finally asked as he looked at Lathen.
"I gotta go guys!" Aeneas shouted.
"Wait, you have to be careful!" Lathern replied.
Badb transformed into a bird before landing on Aeneas's shoulder as he ran toward the elevator Aeneas stood still for a moment as the elevator dinged signaling that it reached its destination. Aeneas opened the door and entered the elevator.
It took off immediately heading downward. The elevator came to a halt with the doors opening. The doors opened revealing a dark room.
"Where am I?" Aeneas thought.
He stepped out of the elevator. A cold breeze greeted him, blowing a shiver up his spine.
"Be on your guard kid," Badb stated.
His phone rang out startling Aeneas. He pulled out his phone and saw who was calling. It was an unknown number but the text message sent to him was simple.
'The power is out so stay put!' - Lathen.
Aeneas was horrified he was stuck in what looked like a basement. The light from the outside did not reach down here nor did it illuminate anything aside from the stairs that lead upward and darkness beyond. There appeared to be an exit to his left leading outside. Aeneas went into the doorway to his right and noticed the exit was locked as well which meant he would have to try his luck elsewhere.
"Badb can you do anything?" He thought.
"Do I look like a genie?" She asked.
"Great…I am gonna get into trouble later," Aeneas spouted.
He walked casually through the empty basement as the grate banged under the weight of his shoes each step making it more difficult to walk on the cement floor beneath him. He reached a wall with some sort of glass panel next to it letting out a small sound when he touched it. He pushed the panel and it slid upwards revealing a hallway and a staircase that led up.
"Oh good! Upstairs!" He yelled.
A gurgling sound made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he turned around to see a small green creature standing there with blood-red eyes and sharp teeth that glistened from the light pouring through the cracks between the boards above its head.
He recalled all he had was a gun, nothing else. The thing roared at him as its large clawed hands reached toward him.
"Fuck me!" he mumbled as he tried to run away as fast as he could.
Aeneas's feet slipped on the slick concrete and then tripped falling to his knees painfully as he slammed face-first into the ground.
The goblin bit the flesh off of his arm and drank his blood. Then it threw its head back and laughed hysterically.
"Ahhh, human blood! Human blood is the best flavor in the world!" The goblin said. Its voice was deep, gruff, and slightly demonic. Its tongue hung out of its mouth and it licked its lips repeatedly.
Aeneas screamed out in pain as he instinctively grabbed Madb as she morphed into a blade desperately swinging in front of them as the beast backed away trying not to spit out his own blood. Aeneas quickly got up ignoring the pain of his wounds. The goblin continued to back away as it moved forward with a menacing expression. As it lunged it swung its claws towards Aeneas' head again.
Terrified shakily he swung his sword and it cut through its torso. Blood began to pour out and Aeneas backed away screaming. The goblin stumbled backward and then fell onto the floor. Its claws scratched at the concrete and stone floor but it couldn't hold on. Its body soon turned gray and disappeared.
[ATTACK - 3]
"What happened?" Aeneas asked.
[EXP + 5]
[LEVEL 1|
[ATTACK 10|DEFENSE 6| SPIRIT 10]
[Congrats brat!]
He heard Yash say from his phone. Aeneas became suddenly annoyed as the lights came back on as he waited for it to take effect. When it did he saw the goblin's blood all over him and was pissed off as hell.
"Are you alright Aeneas? What happened?" Yash asked with concern laced in his voice.
"We could hear you level upstairs," Easton laughed.
"Good job man!" Oz shouted.
Lathen cleared his throat as he stood in front of Aeneas trying not to laugh as well. Easton chuckled as Yash rolled his eyes and sighed in disappointment at the whole situation.
"Well we don't always make it out alive," Easton laughed.
Aeneas sighed as he shook his head. Lathen laughed, patting his back happily. He sighed and rolled his eyes again.
"I think we should get going," Yash suggested.
"All this to get me to level up?" Aeneas shouted.
Everyone in the room started to burst into laughter.
"Don't be an idiot! You have to go fight monsters," Easton pointed out.
"And you have to level up," Yash added.
Aeneas rolled his eyes and nodded. They were probably correct since fighting monsters is their job anyway.
"I needed to meet my Mom for lunch and you guys decided to take that from me!" Aeneas shouted.
He stomped out the door angrily heading back downstairs. Once he returned to the lobby, Yash handed him some clothes which Aeneas took gratefully and headed straight for the elevators.
"Look we're sorry kid," Yash called after him.
Aeneas ignored Yash as he pushed the button to take him to the ground floor. As soon as the elevator arrived a large crowd gathered in front of it blocking Aeneas' path. A man in black robes stood in front of the crowd shouting "Death shall fall upon you". A few other men wearing black robes held their phones in their hands.
"This is actually part of a new campaign! Sorry, Aeneas!" Yash shouted.
He watched as a camera panned the base of the building searching for someone to capture their image. A female reporter walked toward the group of reporters and cameraman. She wore a dark brown leather jacket with matching pants that were ripped apart just below her waist. An old-looking camera hung around her neck. The reporters crowded around her as she spoke.
"What type of paranormal agency is like this?" Badb asked.
"One who is making commercials for a mobile game," Aeneas replied.
Aeneas slowly walked away from the crowd as he observed the people inside the building through the glass window while walking by. There was a reception counter with an attendant sitting behind a desk. In front of the desk was a glass display case displaying different kinds of games such as Pario Cart and Rortal Kombat. Other games like PS4 and Wii Sports occupied another section.
He never played games growing up so working for a company that uses games to hide its true nature is pretty shocking. But at least these guys aren't like the ones who use kids. Some of the employees in this company were older than Aeneas or even his parents and they actually worked there instead of just being paid to sit and talk on the phone for hours on end.
Now he is Aeneas who already has the blessing of a warrior crow on his side. She was one of the most powerful beings known to the gods. He felt very proud knowing he is good enough to be her vessel in times of need.
"Didn't Lea also deserve a second chance? Didn't she also have dreams yet I was chosen like some sick roulette to live?" Aeneas asked.
"Unfortunately I can not help you there…Aeneas I was called because your heart sought revenge and power to succeed therefore my goal is to help you get stronger," Badb explained.
"Oh…" He replied.
"She will be reborn and live again as our souls are eternal," She noted.
"Was it her fate to die this early?" Aeneas questioned.
"Fate is not set in stone…" Badb muttered.
Gawking at himself in the reflection of the window he felt lost and sad and confused. This isn't fair. This shouldn't have happened, this wasn't supposed to happen to anyone. Why is life crueler to him than it had been before? Wasn't he enough? Did God really have it out for him?
"I wish it didn't have to be me, Badb," He thought out loud.
"It had to be someone…"