Prologue: Acceptance

*Crash *Crash

The structure of the building was already compromised, it didn't look like it was going to last any longer.

All he could do was smile bitterly as he lit up a cigarette.

With so many stupid things he'd done, with so much trouble he'd gotten into....

His death was going to be in a simple landslide.

But the strange thing is that he didn't feel anything about it, there was a strange feeling of peace.

...

- It's a pity little one... you'll only live to be thirty and that's only if you're lucky. Why that face? Don't worry, I'll make sure that every minute is worth it. -

.....

His skin still prickled at the memory of that particular moment in his life, the feeling was one so unpleasant that he could never get rid of it no matter how much time passed.

Since the age of 13 he had been aware of one thing, whatever his father had done to his body in that strange place, it had caused his life expectancy to drop to 30 years.

He was currently 21, so he didn't have that much time left.

Actually, if there was anything that would have really worried him, it would have been the life of the person next to him.

Somewhat effeminate appearance, short hair of a strong reddish color, he didn't look older than 16-17 years old (despite being the same age as him).

In general, he could be considered as a full-fledged trap but he himself refused to accept it.

- Can't you really stop daydreaming, you idiot?! - Shouted angrily while looking around for a way to escape from this situation.

- ...I'm sorry - I replied as I felt the self-loathing fill me.

Right, even if I had already calmly accepted my death.

That didn't necessarily mean that Julian would too

My best friend was that kind of a person....

Or maybe he just had a bit of a bad temper.

Who knows? Maybe it was something common in Mexicans

As my mind wandered in somewhat stupid thoughts I continued to look for a way out.

I knew it was useless, but this was better than just sitting there.

...........

Tom was not the best judge of character, much less the smartest person to act.

Julian was mindful of that, but still

Seeing him sitting there with a resigned look on his face had made him as angry as if someone had gone and stolen what he had stolen from someone else.

Stupid and irrational, but just as justified.

He knew, he knew that his friend had at most a decade left in the world and nothing more.

No one could have understood it better than he did

They had both been victims of the same damned psychopath after all.

The brain worked that way, happy moments could fade into a thousand memories.

But the bad ones...the bad ones would never go away.

The body could heal, but the soul was something that might never do so.

Julian was also resigned to death, but at least he wanted his friend to give it his best shot at living

As long as there was hope, he believed anything could be possible.

Return with Holly, Richie, Carter and Trevor along with the others to that strange bar they had gone to at their past meeting.

The old man they had met there was particularly nice, it was really quite rare to see someone with natural red eyes

Maybe laugh about it later as they drank until they could barely stand up

Yes, that's what they were going to do

I shouldn't lose faith, no even while I couldn't still do something.

...

It was a real shame

For Julian's wishes would never come to anything.

As a taunt to the two friends, the building began to collapse even faster until there was nothing left

...Both guys had been completely crushed in the rubble

********

There was no more sensation, no time, no movement.

Just floating adrift in what seemed to be a silent river

Waiting for the current to carry it to its destination.

Memories were becoming distant to the mind

Each day filled with pain, each day longing for death even more

Everything was slipping from his mind....

Even him...

- Ready champ? today we'll play until you can't anymore - His father said as he smiled warmly, something that would have been comforting if it wasn't for the fact that they were in a fucking lab and the games he was referring to were actually the tests they were doing on his body.

He could feel the anger overflowing, completely obliterating the previous calm.

He wanted blood, he wanted revenge

For that man and his ridiculous ambitions, he had lost his childhood, for that man he had lost his beloved mother.

He would have gladly thrown away his humanity if only to be able to tear her skin off....

- 'This can't end like this' -

That thought was all Tom needed to change his course of action.

He didn't know where the current would take him

Much less if he would like where it would end up

Why should he go with the flow?

No, the choice was and always would be his

And as regrettable as it was to admit it Tom was sure of one thing.

- 'I'm a complete idiot...' - He thought shortly before initiating what would be the worst of his follies.

Yes, even greater than that time when he wanted to test how powerful a bazooka was.

His new body, a white sphere, turned and began to push backwards, the effort was a lot but the power was still insufficient and even quite pathetic considering that it was not even close to what he could do with his real body.

His spherical body burned painfully, if he wasn't mistaken this was the shape of his soul.

Cracks could be seen at a glance, leaking a violet liquid.

Why was his form cracked? He didn't know and didn't care at the moment.

All he knew was that he had to go against the current.

...................

Little did Tom know, the corrosion and pain he felt in his soul was caused by his own actions.

The immediate punishment for his stupidity

The river he was in was one dedicated to purifying souls, erasing their memories and preparing them to be reused in order to maintain the cycle ordained by the Almighty God.

Going against the river was a death sentence, the soul would mutate horribly and could even turn it into a hideous creature.

Even more so if it was a simple and weak human soul.

Absorbing the negativity...

Opening its arms to sin and eternal exile from paradise....

An uncertain fate was the only thing assured for those foolish enough to try...

.................

Charged with overseeing the purification of souls, a mid-ranking Angel acted as supervisor.

His job was not the best paid but it brought him great satisfaction.

Though if he had one complaint, it would surely be that he had been given jurisdiction over such a damn dangerous world.

Every hour, every goddamn minute of every goddamn day of the week.

Not even a fucking second to rest, it was simply exhausting to oversee the monstrous amount of souls that came there from the ground.

What the hell was it that caused so many deaths?

Not even in the Post-Apocalyptic worlds did so many occur in such a short time.

[ERROR!]

- AHHHH!!! - The Angel couldn't help but jump in fright at the sound of the system alarm.

Looking at the monitors in his work area, he could feel a disaster approaching.

How cursed was his luck that things like this would happen during his working hours?

- Let's see what happens... - Looking carefully at the report he had received from the system Angel's face grew paler and paler as he went on.

- 'I must report this right away!' -

The worst situation had happened again....

Three souls had gone against the current

Two had stopped on the banks, absorbed the energy of the river and semi-restored their bodies

Now the real problem was the third one and his situation.

How could one soul split in two and not self-destruct!

The worst thing is that it never stopped, divided as it was, it seemed that it had separated into two different existences.

In the face of such a disaster, the Angel had an epiphany

...Was it really too late to quit his job and blame it on someone else?

With that kind of thought in mind, the Angel's wings proceeded to flicker between black and white as he sent his report to the Archangel responsible for relaying the messages to the lord.

............

As he progressed the heat stopped hurting him.

In fact it was beginning to feel pleasant and comforting, Tom could feel as if he was once again in his mother's warm arms.

Shaking his head at the now distant memory the guy soon noticed the strange cargo sign at the side of his vision.

He could see the numbers advancing rapidly

[01%...45%...]

[67%...89%...]

[100%]

Until it finally stopped

[Do you want to start?]

[Yes/No]

Tired as he was, the guy could feel drowsiness dragging him down.

Before closing his eyes for a while

Thomas reached out his hand and pressed an option, he didn't know if he was going to regret it.

But he had nothing left besides taking the risk.

- 'Yes' -

This was the beginning of his journey, to look for something worth living for.

And most importantly...

Kill and torture that bastard who had used him as a lab rat.