Zerith Kingdom (3)

Total darkness, in which not even a glimmer of light was discernible.

In space, probably a speculative concept, a pitch-like pressure enveloped the mind, producing a sense of languor and unfocusedness.

Ideas scattered and gathered but never found a safe harbour in which to settle, thus boycotting the opportunity to construct any thought with a modicum of meaning.

However, it was an event that had long since ceased to puzzle him.

It could not be otherwise.

The number of times he had experienced such an instance, not far from non-existence, exceeded six digits as far as he could remember.

With all, that scheduled event took place after an indeterminate wait.

Like clouds clearing after the end of the rain, the darkness gave way to a figurative sun.

From there, a radiance that seemed to purify the soul.

He could not help but lose himself in such a feeling.

Soon, the darkness evaporated in its entirety, and little by little, his senses returned to him.

From touch, through hearing and finally sight, noises flooded him in all directions.

The most identifiable were the voices, diverse in languages, tones, genders and ages.

As if they had not been exposed to light for years, his eyes burned.

The world, at first hazy, after a few continuous blinks, became intelligible.

Thus, corpses, people arguing and, later, collapsed medieval buildings registered in his field of vision.

Despite the new information, it took him a few seconds to process it.

It was similar to waking up from a long sleep and finding himself in a lethargic state.

Then, when everything fell into place and made sense, he took a closer look at the crowded place and identified one person in particular among the many.

It wasn't difficult. The location was still the same.

Then he slowly made his way to a corner away from the central square, where a house and a market joined and formed a jumble of walls, food stalls and destroyed beams.

There where a particular figure was hiding.

* * *

"What do you want?"

The teenage girl with Asian features voiced.

She wore a schoolgirl uniform, and her short hair was dyed at the ends a yellowish colour.

She had a petite but strangely voluptuous figure. With curves in all the right places.

But those eyes... Those eyes were fierce. Boiling with hostility, about to explode.

On the contrary, sweat covered his forehead and his fists trembled.

His heart was thundering loudly to the point where he thought it would explode.

'What the fuck is he?'

The man's face looked like a human-like mask.

Like a doll, not a single emotion leaked from the mask.

He had never seen anything like this, not even from the Angel that had just left.

'Is he some kind of assassin...?'

Her thoughts couldn't help but head in that direction.

However, he was not a prejudiced person.

What he relied on to judge man as such was, instinct.

For as long as she could remember, she had always been able to "sense" danger.

Every place, person, and action was part of that which was capable of valuing his instinct: an instinct that had become, or always was, in a <Rasgo>.

That's why she knew.

This man was too terrifying!

To the point where she didn't know how to describe him.

His whole body emitted an indescribable pressure.

He swallowed unconsciously.

Before, when Sidquiel was still flying the skies, that danger was overshadowed by the even greater danger of the Angel.

But after his departure, it ceased to be.

Whereupon:

He had to escape as far away as possible now that he had the chance!

And so he did.

Neverthless who would have thought that the source of the danger would have sought and found her specifically?

'It doesn't make sense!'

"You're afraid," he declared unceremoniously.

The woman's pupils dilated fiercely.

"What the fuck are you talking about, you bastard!"

Whenever she found herself in a situation outside her comfort zone, her speech became crude and rude for some reason unknown to her.

Her mother would always criticize her for it, saying, Honey, I'm afraid you'll become an old maid.

And she would only mutter under her breath: I doubt it. There are a lot of perverts out there. However, I would never associate with any of them, of course.

Now, his mother was also telling him this because he refused to back down due to his innate pride and tenacious attitude.

She was already beginning to miss those conversations.

Mind you. Every cloud had a silver lining.

It helped to emphasize a tough-girl image for those situations of real danger where showing the slightest hint of weakness would be fatal.

Or perhaps it would end up being her sword of Damocles.

That remained to be seen.

"You mustn't worry. I just want your help."

"..."

The woman ran through several possibilities.

Scenes from horror movies kept replaying in her head.

Because of this, she didn't notice that her breathing was becoming more irregular and uncontrolled.

Since she was a little girl, she was weak in any situation of a trembling character.

"Relax, it's not what you think."

"Huh?"

The man's words snapped her out of her trance.

"I know you possess a Trait, I do too. So to survive, why don't we team up?"

"!"

His cold eyes pierced through her, leaving her wholly uncovered, with everything to show and nothing to hide.

Suspicion and doubt were growing, so she was slow to formulate an answer.

"No?"

The woman clenched her trembling fists tighter.

Her legs were giving way to fear, preventing her from standing up solidly

The already evident sweat derived from her nervousness was building up even more.

She even felt that winter was coming because of his chattering teeth.

Despite all, she considered. She did so for a while until...

"W-well," her voice wavered.

The man put an offer on the table, and she, not knowing what would happen if she refused, accepted.

Simple as that.

After all, she still wanted to live.

Just as she was about to say something, she was surprised.

"What the fuck...?"

Was the danger gone? As if it had never been there in the first place.

Yet, it didn't relax her in the slightest.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Despite the questioning nature of the words, it was still the same lifeless doll look.

"It's nothing!" he shook his head fiercely.

She wouldn't know it, but he, with countless regressions behind him, learned a trick curious, to say the least.

Nothing surprising. In words plus, words minus "shutting down" the danger he emitted.

Of course, only a few, with certain qualities, could detect that danger.

With Iwa Misaki's stubborn personality, it would be a hassle to waste time getting her to join him.

So he would always let seep in at first what she would in the future after experiencing many things, describe as a sea of endless desolation.

It certainly wouldn't matter if she refused, but it would make everything easier.

From now on, he would have to do many things, and time would never be on his side.

So the best thing to do was to make use of everything at his disposal, however big or small.