Watchers

*Modern day

Location; Realm of the Watchers

When Avalon Haze was on the brink of death, a mysterious man approached her and gave her a second chance to live.

But in order for that to happen, Avalon Haze needed to die, and hence, the Priestess was born.

A woman's stilettos echoed in the great halls of the white castle that floated above the universes. The white shoes matched her white dress as she approached the double doors of the council chamber where an emergency meeting had been called for.

Everything inside the white castle, as its name suggests, was bathed in white. One can say that it may be heaven or paradise.

But those who reside there can hardly agree with such a claim.

The white double doors of the council chamber creaked open at the woman's approach, the clacking of her stilettos coming to a stop as she joined her fellow Watchers sitting around the long white table.

At the head of it, Lemei, a woman of quite extraordinary elegance and grace, with a confident stance and grayish-white hair having a halo on top of her head, eyed each of the Watchers sitting before her.

Around the 12 chairs present, two were vacant.

"Where is Elixir?"

–

"We are definitely the coolest kids in the block right now," Jasspreth exclaimed, making poses with the big cannon rifle hanging around his neck.

From his previous red hair spikes, his hair had turned golden brown and long, tied behind him with a black tie. A red bandana was wrapped around his head in lieu of the red hair. Displayed on its top was a five-pointed star in gold.

To add, a black mask covered his face. Khaki pants and much heavier-looking army boots with a black leather jacket, Zera almost thought he was some goth kid who joined the army. The only thing missing was the heavy eyeliner under his eyes.

Like Zera, around Jaspreth's waist were a pair of handguns, and strapped behind him was a long samurai sword.

Beatrix clicked her tongue. Her current attire makes her feel rebellious.

She chose a loose black shirt with a skull design among her selection. It was pulled up, revealing part of her belly button and showing where her black cut-off short hung. Her black converse came with black netted socks covering her legs up to her thighs and knee protection, like those worn by skaters.

She was also wearing the same for her elbows. The purplish shade of her hair was probably what she loved the most in her new get-up. A uniform red bandana was tied on her left arm.

Her favorite handguns were safely tucked by her waist with the holsters. Behind her, a short staff with a sharp knife attached at the end could be seen. In her hands, a short dagger was at the ready.

"Agreed." Astherielle smiled. Her hair was tied in two pigtails; brownish strands fell by her shoulders. Her curls were gone, and she was now sporting a straight one.

The crop leather top had a zipper on its front and covered most of her arm up to her elbows. Like Beatrix, her belly was also on display. Her fitted top matched the leather pleated skirt that ended on her thigh. She wore a knee-length sock and completed the outfit with fashionable air shoes.

Astherielle chose a crossbow as one of her weapons. The bow slung behind her together with the arrows like a backpack. In her hand, a long rifle was in place. She was taking this time to hold a gun finally.

Similar to what Zera was thinking, she secured an explosive, the bag hanging by the belt on her waist. On her right wrist, the same red bandana was tied around it.

Zera wondered what the mask was for as she gazed at her friends. They were all wearing it.

"I'm sorry to say this, but I'm feeling a bit excited with what lay ahead," Astherielle added, the grin on her face evidently matching what she just said.

Zera could not deny that she was too. But at the same time, she was bothered by one word in the game instructions.

"What do you think that meant?" she voiced out, looking at her friends.

"Which?" Jaspreth eyed her.

"The instruction said, we shouldn't get infected. And you know," she pointed at the masks on their faces. "My curiosity has been awakened."

Her friends each shrugged in response. Jaspreth eyed the red bandana wrapped loosely around her neck. Though, he can tell Zera might not be aware of its presence there.

It was something he came to realize. Each team had been assigned a color. For them, it was red.

He noted that when they first arrived and their faces had red markings. To add, reddish smoke soared towards the skies when they had officially started playing in stage 1.

Returning to the present, Jaspreth exchanged glances with his friends.

"Unless we get inside, we can only speculate what kind of challenge awaits for us inside."

The moment those words left Jaspreth's lips, the four friends heard a hiss, white smoke emanating from the gigantic metal gate in front of them.

They watched as it slowly creaked open, the heavy metals groaning with the weight, revealing what lay beyond the gates.

Several ruined buildings, some missing their entire floors on top while others sported broken glass windows and cracked parts scattered around the vast surrounding of what used to be a city.

Abandoned cars and stalls littered the place as well, giving off the haunted vibe.

Smoke could be seen from the top of some buildings and a few from the hood of damaged cars.

If there had been dead bodies, Zera might have had to close her eyes and try to erase the image that she would surely think about from time to time.

Tentatively taking the first step, Zera took a deep breath. She listened to the silent footsteps of her friends following behind her. When they made it past the gate, it creaked and slowly shut behind them.

In the wake of them finally entering the gate, Beatrix gripped the dagger in her hand, an unlikely thought coming to her mind.

"Why do I feel like we've suddenly been thrown inside a zombie movie?"