(2) Get A Move On

Eraba wakes up in panic and cold sweats. "That dream again.." he thought to himself. Eraba gets up and looks at the view. "Didn't expect much, being in the bottom layer and all." Eraba gets a sharp head pain and chuckles. "Shit.. you know the pain is bad when it makes you laugh. Or I'm just becoming delusional. Thanks 'Matriarch'." Eraba picks up his weapons and gets a move on. He thinks about the dream he had. "You know, I wonder, do these nightmares come with that curse you put on me? If they are, can you not make me go to school in every single dream? What about the head pains? ANSWER ME!" Eraba was cursed by The Matriarch to be sent to Anarchy. He has no idea why, and all he knows is that there's 10 layers, with The Monarchy at the top. That's where he believes she is. "You're cruel. You sent me here like I did something wrong, you know? I lived with what I was given. To make matters worse, you just had to put me at the bottom layer. Couldn't do me a favor and put me at the 5th? Guess that shows you're somewhat confident in what I can do.. or you just hate me. Anywho, I sure hope I can find friends!" Eraba is reluctant to find at least one person to stop him from going insane.

SFX: Horse walking*

     Eraba is excited to hear this. This could be the chance for the first human interaction he's had since the 2nd day of being in Anarchy.

THE SECOND DAY

     "You new here? Haven't seen you on this path before" a man says. Eraba is confused. The man notices Eraba's expression and says, "why are you making that face? Did I do something wrong?" Eraba's face slowly glimmers with excitement. "No, no, no! This is the second day I've been here and all I know is that it's a hell of some sort. I didn't expect people to be nice." The man is surprised. "You survived 2 days out here, with no weapons?" he says. Eraba didn't find it too shocking considering nothing strange happened to him. "Yeah, nothing has happened so far. You're the first person I've met. I was cursed and I ended up here." Eraba explains. The man is in complete shock. "You were cursed by the Matriarch herself? She's the only person in existence with the power to curse someone." Eraba is intrigued and wants to know more about her, but is a little weirded out, "The hell? Why did he sound so enthusiastic? Does he want to be cursed in this hellhole?" Eraba thought to himself. The man explains that she's located at the 1st layer, "The Divine Monarchy." He tells Eraba he's at the 10th layer, The Merchant's Following. He hands Eraba a shotgun, machete and katana. All for free. The man says, "these weapons are binded with the Anarchy's flowing energy. With this, the weapons possess supernatural abilities as you can see on their details. This energy is in all 10 layers. To make these weapons of full use, you want to combine your innate spirit with the energy in the air. Every soul has energy to be of use. Take these clothes too, it's looking pretty grim for you. Unfortunately I can't stay, as I'm a merchant and must keep moving. The closest civilization is 200 miles west. There is another person who was cursed here as well. He's probably at the town. Best of luck."

PRESENT, DAY 43 - 180/200 MILES

     "Let's see who it is!" Eraba says with excitement. To his disappointment, it's just another demon. But then again, to his excitement, it's practice. "Let's try the katana" Eraba thinks. He looks at the katana and notices what seems to be a set of animal teeth under the guard. He closes his eyes and tries his best to channel the power. He imagines the flow and then all of a sudden he feels a sharp pain on his knuckles. He flinches but opens his eyes. He's shocked. "What the hell?!" Eraba thinks to himself. The teeth had sunk into his knuckles. There was no handle on the katana anymore, it's as if the katana had conjoined with him. "Well now that I'm here, I wonder what it does?" He swings, hoping the ground starts shaking. Nothing happens. He takes a step forward and everything is normal. The demon notices and charges him. "Let me get the hang of this first, asshat!" Eraba realizes it's useless as he's talking to a horse in the Anarchy. The horse catches up and bashes Eraba. His head hits a rock and he blacks out for a few seconds. He gets up, with his vision blurred and notices the beast-like katana unraveling from his knuckles. "It's going away, and the pain subsides too. No blood, either? Weird." He looks up and sees the horse on the ground. It's dead with a man standing over it.

SFX: Scratching head*

     "It's too easy here. How'd he struggle?" The man says. Eraba is somewhat offended. "Hey you, how'd you take him down so easy!?" The man looks at Eraba and laughs. "You have that katana and still lost to this thing?" Eraba is confused and wonders what he's talking about, "What do you mean 'that katana'? Is it special or something?" The man is surprised that Eraba has the katana in his possession, yet doesn't know what it is. The man says, "I'll tell you what it is and then we can get to the town. There's someone there who can help."

     "This katana right here is 'Shōhi'. As the name says, it consumes. If you channel your energy into it, you will have greatly enhanced physical abilities in the places it consumes. "But I did do that! It just started biting me and I gained nothing from it!" Eraba exclaims. The man laughs and says, "No you didn't. You just stood there with the katana in hand. It bit your hand because it rejected you, meaning you need to tame it." Eraba scratches his head and chuckles. "What do you mean I didn't? I imagined the flow and everything!" Eraba said. The man laughs and says, "You don't just imagine it, you dummy! You got the first step but you really need to feel the Anarchy energy building up inside of you, and let it resonate. You should feel a sudden surge in power and then, alas, it won't reject you and you'll be able to use it." Eraba understands and goes for it. "So close my eyes, and let it build." Eraba says to himself.

SFX: Growling, energy, bite*

     "Grah!"  Eraba let out in pain. "Ah, there! You did it! Look at you being a quick learner." The man says with excitement. Eraba chuckles in relief, as the pain subsides. "Would you look at yourself! It wrapped around your arm, torso, and leg!" The man says. Eraba looks at his arm and sees it's a little thicker, and it isn't human skin. Seems like the rough scales of a lizard. "Now what about these other two weapons?" Eraba says as he shows the man the shotgun and machete. "Hell if I know. They seem like some random weapons to me! But the katana, that's a special weapon. Now that you've tamed it, it'll always find it's way back to you, in one way or another. Where'd you find it, anyways?" The man says. Eraba confidently says while holding it, "A merchant gave it to me!" The man's eyes widen and jaw drops. "HE'S STUPID! STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID!" he exclaims. Eraba chuckles and scratches his head. "Yeah, I guess so. I've been on this layer for 43 days and I kinda want to leave it now, can we go?" Eraba says. The man calms down and says, "Yeah, let's go meet my brother in town. He's a combat expert and genius."

GET A MOVE ON // CHAPTER 2

Done.