The Vial Of Hypnos

Arc 1: The Beginning

Thunder boomed from the dark dreary clouds above and brief flashes of lightning cut the sky in two. Thick black smoke billowed into the air and the atmosphere smelled of chaos. Normal civilians and Sicarius alike ran through the streets of Somnia City like a colony of small ants. Their cries for help complemented the sound of fallen buildings and earth-thumping explosions. Some laid bloodied and lifeless, crushed under slabs of concrete and large buildings while others were left unfortunate enough to live through the apocalyptic catastrophe.

The sky then opened up like a massive door, pumping a flood of red Hemo Energy down into the helpless city. This sent shockwaves ripping through every section of the city, resulting in smaller wormholes appearing in every direction. Lesser Demons, Monsters, and Strange Beasts all came running through. A gateway connecting to the doorsteps of both Purgatory and Fake Paradise had been created. It was a Spirit Disaster like none had ever seen before.

With a final shout, a wormhole to the south of the city expanded thousands of feet wide into the air. A perfect connection to the doorway of Purgatory had been made for a brief moment, sending fear rippling through the destroyed city. Out stepped two massive scaly legs that were the color of fresh blood. This was followed by a protruding snout sitting atop a mouth of razor-sharp teeth.

With a powerful roar, an ancient dragon stepped into full view, stretching its red-soaked wings high into the air. Its voice was like that of ten thousand lions and its body was covered in shiny red scales and black jagged spikes. Its bright flaming eyes sparked to life as fresh food all around scurried to hide. Its mouth then became filled with hot flames before blasting the city, burning everything before it to cinders.

Finally, a bright flash of lightning illuminated the sky for a very brief moment, revealing the face of a young man looking down onto Somnia City. He had teakwood skin and long curly black hair. His face was perfectly refined like that of a deity. His eyes were like melted gold and strange angelic wings grew from his eyebrows. His lips moved to the tune of a four-lettered name that could not be heard. But the face of the young man disappeared almost as soon as it had appeared.

"Gasp!!"

Avic jumped from his bed, holding the temple of his head in pain. It was that strange dream again. The dream of the Great Spirit Disaster 10 years ago.

"Damn it..!" He cursed with a look of agony written all over his face. Every time he had a dream of the Great Spirit Disaster, he would always wake up with an excruciating headache. It almost felt like his brain was trying to break free from his skull and escape. Fortunately, the headaches always lasted for only about twenty seconds before receding.

The dreams had been plaguing Avic for a total of 10 years, almost once every month. By now, he had no choice but to get used to them.

With a bothered sigh, he picked himself up and kicked aside the dirty clothes that were scattered across his room floor. His room smelled quite moldy and looked more like an abandoned morgue than the room of an 18-year-old teenager.

Slowly, he then moved toward an old dirty bathroom hidden behind a door at the back of his room. The smell was even worse as the bathroom had not been cleaned in well over 5 years. Unbothered by this, Avic moved towards the moldy bathroom mirror, taking a good look at himself.

He had a very slender body due to not eating very well but he was quite tall, standing at exactly 6ft. His long black hair littered his face keeping gorgeous golden eyes hidden underneath. Apart from his evident lack of interest in the things around him, he had the potential to be very handsome if he placed enough effort into it.

Slowly, Avic then cleaned himself before moving back into his room. This was when he drew closer to his dresser—the only area in the entire house that was kept clean. He then stretched forth his hand before picking up a picture of a man and a woman holding onto a small child. The picture was filled with happiness and joy.

"Mom... Dad..." Muttered Avic slowly. "I don't know how but I promise that one day I will find a way to bring you two back to life."

After a few more minutes of reminiscing about the death of his parents, Avic proceeded to dress in an old grey shirt, long black pants, and leather slippers. He then left his house, stepping out into the town of Initium.

The sunlight immediately bathed his face, causing him to squint his eyes as if he hadn't left his house in over a year. This was followed by the heavy sound of carts, footsteps, animals, beasts, and people, all going about their daily lives. The town was as lively as it could be. The buildings were of an ancient design, decorated with thatch, wood, and stone while the streets were made of refurbished stone.

Just then, Avic caught a glance of the sun, realizing it was centered in the sky. His eyes widened with urgency as he realized he was in trouble.

"Crap! It's already noon?! I should have gotten to work four hours ago!!" He exclaimed, catching the attention of bystanders.

Not losing another second to hesitation, Avic dashed through the streets of Initium Town, racing towards a nearby tavern not too far away. As he ran, he knocked over the food stands of a few vendors, crashed into an old lady, and caused a few more accidents, all while screaming "SORRY".

Not long after, he rushed into the tavern, slamming the doors open, almost out of breath. A few dozen gazes quickly turned to look at him with looks of surprise written all over their faces. One such gaze was from a man with salt and pepper hair, pale grey eyes, and a scruffy white beard. His face turned red with rage as he looked at Avic with a very displeased frown.

"Avic! Where have you been?!" He shouted.

Avic panted with his hands braced against his knees and his eyes shut with exhaustion.

"Sorry, Old Man Amon..! I overslept!"

"What do you mean you overslept?! And why are you out of breath? Your house is just three blocks away from here! Get your lazy ass over here!"

With a bothered sigh, Avic marched over to Amon, preparing himself for the earful he was about to receive. However, to Avic's surprise, Amon simply strapped an apron around his waist.

"Huh? You're not going to talk my ear off?"

"As much as I'd want to, we don't have time for that right now. The tavern's been busy all day and we need all hands on deck. Besides, after being with you for ten years, I'm used to your shenanigans and excuses. If you were with anyone else, you'd have been fired a million times over..!"

"Sigh... I really did oversleep this time though..."

"Yeah, whatever. Just be on your best behavior today. That's all I ask of you. There's a Sicarius dining with us today and I don't need the trouble."

"Wait? A Sicarius? What's a Sicarius doing in Initium?"

"Doesn't matter! Just get to work already!"

Amon then kicked Avic in the back, forcing him out in the middle of the tavern to take orders from the customers.

"Damn that old geezer... I know I was late but there's no need to treat me like a football..."

With another bothered sigh, Avic proceeded toward a table of customers to take their orders. However, just before he could get to them, he was intercepted by an 18-year-old girl with long beautiful silver hair, scarlet red eyes, and a stunning figure. She wore a black and white maid dress and held a tray of beer in her hands.

"Eliisabet..? What are you doing here?" Queried Avic.

"What do you mean by that? I work here!"

"Oh yeah..."

"Sigh... I swear, I make the effort to come over here to see if you're okay and you start treating me like a stranger."

"Sorry, I'm just out of it today."

"You're always out of it..."

"What can I say? I lack motivation. It's a miracle I even got out of bed this morning."

"You were four hours late, Avic!"

"It's not my fault that my brain decided to sleep instead of waking up."

Eliisabet folded her arms with an expressionless face.

"You would sleep all day if you could, wouldn't you?"

"You bet!"

"That's not something to be proud of, Avic!"

"I wish I was a cloud... Just floating anywhere the wind takes me... That's what I'd consider the ideal life."

"You're hopeless..."

Just then, a strong masculine voice called out to Avic from the other side of the bar, interrupting their conversation.

"Hey, the kid with the lazy eyes! Bring me a beer!"

Avic and Eliisabet then looked over to the figure to see a well-built man looking around his early thirties. He had short snow-white hair, icy blue eyes, and a powerful grin wiped across his lips. By his side was a long sword the size of a door and he wore sturdy blue armor as if he had just returned from battle.

"Damn... Why did he have to choose me? What a pain..." Murmured Avic. "Be right back, Eliisabet."

Just then, before Avic could walk off, Eliisabet grabbed onto his arm, pulling him back. This jolted him with surprise.

"Huh? Eliisabet, what are you doing..?"

Immediately, Avic came to notice the look of fear implanted in Eliisabet's eyes. She seemed terrified of something.

"Eliisabet, what is it?" Asked Avic once again, this time in a more serious tone.

"I don't think you should serve that man..!" She answered in a whispered shout.

"Huh? Why?"

"He's a Sicarius! You know, those people who use their bloodline trait for battle!"

Avic immediately went quiet as he looked back up at the man. His eyes were glued to Avic, waiting for him to bring his requested beer.

"I see... So that's the guy the old geezer was trying to warn me about earlier."

"In any case, you shouldn't deal with him! You know how the Sicarius are! And worse of all, everyone knows how you are! If you go over to him, I'm almost certain it'll end badly!"

"You're overthinking this, Eliisabet. I honestly couldn't care less if he's a Sicarius or not. I'll just give him his order as I would with any normal citizen then I'll be on my way."

"No, you're the one that doesn't get it, Avic! Sicarius are always super prideful and like to exert their dominance over others! If you go over to that guy without showing any kind of fear, I'm certain he's gonna kick your ass or even kill you!"

"Sigh... Would he really kick my ass for such a dumb reason?"

"Avic, listen. I don't want to see you hurt. I'll go over there and bring him his beer for you, okay?"

"I mean, that's fine. Less work for me."

Eliisabet then quickly moved towards the Sicarius, handing him one of the beers she had on the tray. At first, everything seemed like it was going to work out until the man tossed the beer into Eliisabet's face instead of drinking it. This immediately caught the attention of everyone in the tavern, shrouding the place with silence.

"What is this!?" Cursed the man angrily. "Didn't you hear me? I asked the kid with the lazy eyes to serve me. So why the hell are you bringing me my beer, girl?"

"I'm terribly sorry!" Apologized Eliisabet trembling. "Avic's not feeling very well right now and... and I decided to serve you in his place..! I promise I can take care of your needs..!"

The Sicarius then looked up at Eliisabet with a strong look of annoyance before slapping her across the face. This resulted in her falling to the floor with a painful yelp before the tray of beer, drenched her in the scent of alcohol.

Seeing this, Avic hurriedly got ready to run over to the Sicarius in defense of Eliisabet, but he was quickly stopped by Amon from behind.

"Avic, calm down!" Pleaded Amon.

"What? Come on, old geezer! You expect me to just standby and watch that bastard hurt Eliisabet?! Have you lost your mind?!"

"Avic, I know you're upset but that man is a Sicarius! If you confront him without thinking things through then you'll only get killed!"

"Then what do you propose?"

"Just stand back and let me handle this."

Despite not agreeing with Amon's method, Avic decided to comply. A second later, Amon moved towards the Sicarius before picking up Eliisabet.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience," apologized Amon. "But this tavern is off-limits when it comes to violence. I would like to take care of your request in a peaceful manner if you wish to comply."

"Look, old man. I hate resorting to violence as much as the next guy but it annoys me when I make a simple request and fail to have it carried out," argued the Sicarius.

"May I have your name, sir?"

"The name's Bolton and as I'm sure you can tell, I'm a bloodline user, aka a Sicarius."

"Okay, Bolton, how may I be of assistance to you?"

"What is this? I never asked for your help old man. I simply stated that I want the kid over there to offer me some f****** service! Is that so hard to understand?"

Though displeased with Bolton's attitude, Amon decided to comply. Slowly, he turned back towards Avic who was watching impatiently from a distance. He only had one choice if he hoped to keep things from escalating.

"Avic, come give this customer what he needs!"