5 Chapter 5: Crying For Rain

Black eyes opened. They were utterly pitch-black, devoid of any color. These eyes belonged to a young child, barely 5-years-old. He was so young, and yet the eyes lacked any emotion whatsoever. It was like staring in a void that stared back.

The boy stood on a sidewalk as the rain-drenched his hair and his clothes. He had rain boots but no rain jacket. He peered across the street as if contemplating jumping into a moving vehicle, but it was empty.

"What's a little kid like you doing all alone in the rain?"

A woman had snuck up on him. The sound of rain had masked the noise of her footsteps. Aster glanced at the woman with glossy pupils and saw that she had green eyes and long dark-blonde hair. She wore a formal dress and carried a red umbrella.

Upon scrutinizing the boy's face, the woman tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. "Not much of a talker, huh? Let me try this again. My name's Mari. What's yours?"

"Aster."

"Do you have a home?"

Aster shook his head.

"Do you have parents?"

"They're dead."

Mari sighed slightly. "I see. In that case, you can stay over at my place. How does that sound?"

She offered her hand, but Aster stared at it, unmoving. Was this some sort of trick? He was so unfamiliar with kindness that it almost seemed like an alien gesture. With furrowed brows, Aster looked back up at Mari. Her eyes were unlike any he had seen before. When Aster gazed at her verdant orbs, it was like admiring a vast and immaculate meadow. Her soft smile radiated such tranquility that Aster could not help but be frozen in awe. If Aster could come up with a word for the sensation he was feeling, it would be something along the lines of "maternal endearment." It was something he had never experienced before, and because of that, he stood there, dumbfounded. To Aster, she was an angel, cast down from Heaven to pull him up from Hell.

And so, Aster accepted her hand.

Mari pulled him under the umbrella to keep him away from the crying sky. In doing so, she exposed her right side to the strengthening precipitation. The two of them walked down the sidewalk until they finally stopped in front of Mari's house. Mari took her keys, unlocked the door, and opened it.

"I'm home!" Mari said.

Inside, a young girl, about five years old, was eating dinner at a table. She had green eyes just like Mari, but her hair was a lighter blonde. In the kitchen, an older boy, about fourteen years old, was washing the dishes. His features were completely different from the two other girls, having black hair, black eyes, and a prominent chin.

"Welcome back, mom," the boy said. "Wait a minute. Who's that you brought with you? And why are you soaked?"

"I found him alone on the sidewalk. He doesn't have a home or any parents, so I thought I should take care of him for a bit."

With her mouth full of food, the girl said, "Whoa! Is that my new brother?"

Mari giggled. "No, he'll only be staying for a little bit until I can bring him to an orphanage. For now, he's our guest." Mari then turned to the boy. "I'm gonna wash him up, so get our dinner plates ready."

After taking Aster to the bathroom, Mari turned on the faucet to fill up the tub. She then undressed Aster. Once the tub was full, Mari placed Aster in the tub and scrubbed his body. As she washed his head, she felt two strange bumps. Parting his hair aside, she caught a glimpse of two, almost unnoticeably small horns. Mari gasped, hesitating for a second, but resumed an air of ignorance. Aster turned, wondering what was wrong. Mari continued scrubbing him, pretending that nothing had happened.

Soon enough, Mari finished bathing Aster. She dried him off and gave him a set of oversized clothes. Afterward, they took a seat at the dinner table and began eating. Tonight's meal was simple spaghetti, but when Aster placed the first spoonful in his mouth, a cathartic sensation of elation overwhelmed his body after finally having something delicious to eat for the first time in so many years.

Since the boy and the girl had already finished their dinner, they were not eating; the boy was watching TV, and the girl cheerfully chatted with Aster.

"Hey! What's your name? Where do you come from? Do you like to play games?"

Aster ignored her, ravenously inhaling his food.

"Hey! I asked you a question!"

Aster stopped eating for a second and glanced at her. After a moment, he resumed his feast.

"Try to be more considerate, Rina," Mari said. "He's an orphan. I'm sure he's been through a lot."

Mari's smile faltered as she recalled the two horns on Aster's head. Luckily, because of his shaggy hair, the horns were concealed for now.

Eventually, Mari and Aster finished their meal. After licking the last morsel of food from his plate, Aster leaned back on his chair and instantly fell asleep. Mari snickered at the adorable sight and carried him over to the guest room on the second floor, tucking him into bed.

***

In the middle of the night, Aster awoke to the sound of talking. Even the slightest of noises could alert Aster; his past lifestyle forced him to become a light sleeper, making sure that he could react to any threats if necessary.

The young boy got out of bed and crept down the stairs, eavesdropping on the conversation. On second thought, it was probably nothing—Aster didn't have any reason to distrust Mari. But he always held the belief that information was king.

"Yes, that's right, he's a shroud. He was just standing out in the street."

There was a short pause.

"Project Alcides? But he's—"

Another pause.

"I understand. I'll take him there tomorrow."

The sound of footsteps approached Aster's hiding spot. He swiveled around, returned to his room, and silently closed the door. Aster then tiptoed back to bed, making sure that Mari wasn't anywhere near his room. With a heavy exhale, Aster's heartbeat slowed down, and he tucked himself under the covers.

***

The door swung open in the morning, and Mari entered with a radiating smile. She pulled the bedsheets off Aster and shook him awake.

"Come on, sleepyhead! I'm taking you somewhere special today!"

Mari carried him down the stairs. In truth, Aster didn't need to be carried; he was already wide awake. Still, he wouldn't complain if somebody else did work for him, even if five-year-olds were too old to carry around. Once Mari reached the bottom of the stairs, Aster glanced to the side, seeing that the boy and the girl were already awake, eating breakfast.

"Where are you guys going?" the boy asked.

"We're going to Chaldeus. I was called in for work. Make sure you and your sister behave, okay, Stell?"

"Yup."

"I'll see you! Bye!"

Mari exited the house and plopped Aster in the back seat of her car. As she got into the driver's seat, Aster put on his seat belt, and finally, Mari took off. Looking at the overhead mirror, Mari cast a worried glance at Aster. As she drove, the gentle bouncing of the car on the street caused the little boy to doze off.

***

Mari stood outside an observation window, peering into a laboratory operation room. In the room, machine arms performed surgery on a young boy. Next to Mari stood a man who wore crimson robes and an owl mask—he was an Arbiter.

"Are you sure about this, Tenebris?" Mari asked.

"In the past, we've been trying to turn humans into shrouds, but it only resulted in horrendous abominations. By altering a shroud's memory, we can simply trick it into believing it's a human and make it cooperate. Although this isn't the true objective of Project Alcides, it can provide a temporary weapon until we can fully complete a synthetic shroud."

"But can one shroud really kill the queen?"

"Of course. By devouring the hearts of shrouds, he can become immensely powerful. Once he awakens, he will be able to fight the queen directly."

"Cannibalism will make him go insane! He'll keep on eating and eating until he can't control himself anymore!"

"We have already planned for him to receive an inhibitor shot every month to prevent such a crisis and suppress his urges."

"Even still, doesn't the queen have the ability to command every shroud?"

"The inhibitor shot should prevent that. But just to make sure, we will alter his brain."

"I see. So you really do plan on having him kill the shroud queen."

"He won't just kill the queen. He will become our new king."

The shroud queen lives in the Black Citadel, the last remaining shroud city. She rarely ever leaves her palace, and anyone who has seen her face rarely lives to tell the tale.

And yet, with all of her power, she was deemed a coward. Many of the shrouds who opposed her feared that Vergessenheit would bomb their city. Luckily, that day has not come. The shroud queen must be kept alive at all costs to prevent the Arbiters from losing the Authority.

She cannot die until she has fulfilled her role.

***

Aster woke up in the car.

"Are you alright, Aster?" Mari asked.

Aster nodded his head.

"Good," Mari said.

"Where did we go?" Aster asked.

"It was just a doctor's appointment."

"I don't remember anything."

"You were really sleepy, so that's probably why."

"Okay."

"You were a good boy today. Do you want a lollipop?"

"Sure."

Mari gave one to Aster. He unwrapped the lollipop and bit into it, shattering the candy to pieces.

***

Black eyes opened. They were utterly pitch-black, devoid of any color. These eyes belonged to a young child who was six years old. He was maturing at an alarming rate. Not too long ago, these eyes could not show emotion, but now, his heart had miraculously opened up like a buried treasure that had been hidden from the world for far too long.

Rina and Aster were playing around in the backyard, chasing each other. Stell was also there, dribbling a soccer ball.

Mari opened the back door from inside the house and called out, "Aster, we have a doctor's appointment today!"

"Again? Has it already been another month?"

"Yup. You're gonna need another shot."

"Why do I have to take so many shots? I hate them!"

"It's because of your—"

"—health condition. I know, I know."

Aster trudged over to Mari, shoulders slumped. He had been living together with them for about a year now, and they were all on familiar terms.

Aster turned back to Rina and Stell and waved goodbye. "I'll see you guys later!"

Mari waved goodbye as well.

***

Mari stood outside an observation window, peering into a laboratory operation room. Inside, a single machine arm hovered over a young boy who was strapped on a bed, piercing him with a hypodermic needle and injecting a yellow serum. Tenebris stood next to Mari, beguiled by the sight.

In the operation room, Aster screamed, his voice muted by the glass pane separating him from the outside. His scream was a scream of pure agony. It was the scream one would make if they were thrown into a furnace. As the yellow liquid from the needle entered his veins, he wailed even louder. Once all the fluid had been injected, the robot arm retracted and quickly retreated to the room's edge.

Immediately, horns burst from Aster's head, and a tail emerged from his lower back, piercing straight through the bed he was laying on. Parts of his skin turned black, becoming engulfed by a seemingly sentient fog, but other parts remained their normal color, untouched by the tendrils. Aster was in a state of half-transformation, expelling searing miasma in every direction, threatening to obliterate the room if it was not specially designed to contain such destructive forces. Even though the injection was finished, the liquid injected into Aster continued to course through his body with excruciating pain, causing him to convulse like a madman.

"Subject 177013 is developing well," Tenebris said.

"Yeah," Mari replied. Her breathing was staggered; she was struggling to watch.

Tenebris glanced at her. "Don't get too attached. He's but a mere weapon."

"I know."

Aster remained in agony for about a minute until he finally calmed down, reverting to a stable humanoid form. Still, his breathing was uncontrolled, and his skin was slick with sweat. He was close to passing out.

Two people with protective gear entered the operation room from a side entrance. They unstrapped Aster and carried him out.

Mari exited the lab, rode the elevator to the ground floor, and sat in the waiting room. Finally, after a half-hour, Tenebris emerged from a doorway, with Aster following closely behind. Mari gave Aster a warm hug and handed him a lollipop.

"Good job, my little cupcake!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"I will never stop."

"Ugh."

"I'd hate to rush such a warm reunion, but we must be on our way now," Tenebris said.

"Oh, right!" Mari said, turning to Aster. "You're gonna be moving to another place!"

***

The three of them stood outside Aster's new room. It was located in the Shroud Hunter Academy, which was directly connected to the SPCB Headquarters. The dorm rooms were a convenient place for shroud hunters to stay if they lived alone because they wouldn't have to pay expensive rent.

Aster's room was fully furnished with a bed, a desk, a couch, and some cabinets, but it didn't have any decorations. It was homely but austere.

"Why do I have to live here now?"

"So that the doctors can keep an eye on you," Mari said. "Don't worry. There'll be plenty of people here that will take good care of you."

"Does this mean I won't get to see you anymore?"

"Of course not! I'll visit you every day!"

Aster started to cry. At first glance, one would think he was almost a teenager, but he was still only a six-year-old. Thus were the effects of his rapid aging.

Mari pulled him into an embrace and patted his head. "There, there. Don't cry."

"I don't want you to leave me! Is all this happening because of my…my horns? Is this why I have to get all these shots and why you're leaving me here?"

Mari shut her eyes and shook her head.

[He's just a weapon,] she thought. [He's just a weapon. He's just a weapon. He's just a weapon.]

[He's not human.]

"Why do I even have these stupid horns? They're just making everything worse!"

"Because you aren't human," Tenebris said. "You're a shroud."

"Why? Why can't I just be like everybody else?"

"Shrouds will never be able to fit in with human society. Since they are not human, they do not receive human rights.

"So, if I become a human, then all the bad stuff will go away?"

Tenebris paused for a moment, then said, "Yes."

"How do I become a human?"

Beneath his mask, Tenebris grinned.

***

Black eyes opened. They were utterly pitch-black, devoid of any color. These eyes belonged to a fifteen-year-old, his heart steeled by violence. Emotions were a thing of the past. They were but an unnecessary burden.

By now, he looked to be a young adult. The rapid aging caused by the inhibitor serum was starting to slow, and his mental age was catching up with his physical appearance.

Aster kneeled over a shroud corpse in an alleyway, devouring its guts. When a shroud eats the heart of another shroud, the consumer increases in strength. In rare cases, a shroud may even absorb some of the prey's aspects. But, this power comes with a drawback. The more a shroud cannibalizes, the more their veins in their horn become inflamed, giving the appearance of cracks. Eventually, they will lose their sanity altogether unless treated by the shroud queen's blood.

There was also another corpse nearby. Both of the dead shrouds' demonic forms resembled that of hedgehogs, but their shapes became unrecognizable as the miasma dissipated into the surrounding air, forming a translucent fog that lowered visibility.

The sound of footsteps echoed nearby. It was Mari.

"You don't have to eat everything. Just their hearts. You're gonna get sick."

"Oh. Yeah."

Aster backed off from the body and wiped his mouth.

"I see that you didn't manage to capture any of them," Mari said.

"They were too prickly."

"Capturing shrouds is important. You can't forget about that. We need them to power the city. You can't just go around eating everybody that you see."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Let's go now. You've got another mission."

The two begin to leave. Suddenly, the sound of rustling clothes alerted Aster. He turned his head, but it was too late. One of the shrouds, whom Aster thought was dead, had ripped out a spike from his body and thrown it at Mari.

For a second, time seemed to slow. Aster reached out his arm and called out, but his efforts were futile against the solid miasma javelin. In the time it took a dragonfly to flap its wing, the spike impaled Mari's back, and her body jerked forward from the impact. Blood spewed from her mouth and wound.

Aster froze.

"MARI!"

Aster shifted into demonic form and pounced onto the barely-living shroud, tearing him to pieces, shredding his guts, and creating a fountain of blood that sprayed everything around him in dark red. Aster did the same to the other corpse just to make sure it wouldn't catch him off-guard. When he finished, his breathing quivered, and his face scrunched up in a hideous grimace. Aster went over to Mari's side. She had a hole in her stomach. The shroud had thrown its spike with so much force that it went clean through the woman's body.

"Mari! Please! Wake up!"

Her eyes fluttered weakly open. She brought a hand to Aster's cheek and caressed it, smearing blood on his face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You're alive! Thank God!"

"Listen, Aster. I don't have much time left."

"Don't say things like that! I can still take you to the hospital!"

"I'll be dead by then."

"No!"

Tears cascaded down Aster's face.

"I'm sorry, Aster, for all these years. I've just been using you as a tool. I'm so sorry."

"No! I'm sorry! I couldn't protect you!"

"It's okay. I forgive you."

"Don't leave me!"

"Live your life how you want to live it. Don't let other people tell you what to do."

"Please! Don't leave me!"

"If you keep blindly following people, then you'll just be a pawn. You're gonna get thrown away. I don't want that to happen. You're immature and heartless, but even so, you're beautiful. You were like another son to me. I want you to live a long life."

"Mari! Please!"

"You want to become human, don't you?"

"Yes. I do."

"To me, you already are one."

Mari closed her eyes for the last time.

"Hey! Mari! Hey! Don't go! Please! Don't go!"

Aster checked his watch. It read 7:31.

[If I use her car and floor the pedal, I should be able to reach the hospital in ten minutes.]

He rechecked his watch. It read 8:05.

[Huh?]

He checked it for the third time. It read 12:50.

Aster looked around. Everything was fuzzy, and the walls swirled around him as if he had just finished spinning himself around in circles.

He sighed in relief.

"It's all just a dream, isn't it?"

He offered his hand to Mari. She laid there, unmoving.

"It's all just a dream. Mari isn't actually dead. C'mon, Mari, take my hand. Let's go now."

Aster continued to stand there, Mari still did not take his hand.

"I'll wake up, and everything will be alright. It's all just a dream. It's all just a dream. It's all just a dream. It's all just a dream. It's all—"

***

"—just a dream."

Black eyes opened. They were utterly pitch-black, devoid of any color. These eyes belonged to a seventeen-year-old. He was almost an adult, and yet, guilt plagued him like an invisible tumor.

Aster looked around his room to see that it was still the middle of the night. He grabbed a picture frame from his nightstand. It was a picture of him and Mari from four years ago.

"It was all just a dream."

He laid back down, clutching the picture near his chest.

After all this time, he still had not changed. His eyes were lifeless, even though he continued to breathe. He had never learned to accept his grief. The past clung on to him like chains.

The only way to break these chains was to become human.