Frustrations & Desperation

Warning: This chapter contains graphic depictions of gore, and intense scenes that may be distressing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. If you are sensitive to such content, it is recommended to read this chapter slowly.

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The gargantuan tower, dwarfing even the Empire State Building in size, loomed like an imposing sentinel of death. Its eerie red radiance permeated the atmosphere with a palpable aura of destruction.

The tower had manifested abruptly, momentarily taking the Herrscher by surprise. Nevertheless, he swiftly redirected his focus towards the enigmatic yellow creature. However, an unsettling foreboding began to wash over him—an overwhelming sense of impending catastrophe.

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This morning...

POV: ???

*grunt*

With a faint groan, I stirred, opening my eyes, my body weighed down by fatigue from the previous day's arduous labour. My muscles throbbed with discomfort, a clear indication that they yearned for additional rest. However, my present circumstances denied me the luxury of prolonging my respite.

Despite my body's reluctance, I mustered the determination to extricate myself from the warmth of my bed. Slowly and somewhat reluctantly, I managed to rise and commence my morning routine.

I trod the familiar path to the washroom, intent on rousing my drowsy and fatigued countenance. Splashing my face with a splash of frigid water, I gazed into the mirror, observing the weariness etched into my features—a testament to the demands of my daily toil, which often made me appear older than my years.

*Tring* *Tring*

My inner thought was abruptly shattered by the piercing ring of my phone, causing me to jolt in surprise. I cast my gaze upon the screen of my trusty old Nokia 3310, and my heart skipped a beat when I beheld the caller's name: Boss.

*Gulp*

Anxiety and a sense of obligation clashed within me as I hesitated over whether to answer the call. Ultimately, summoning my resolve, I steeled myself and pressed the answer button, initiating a conversation.

"Hello," I responded, taking the initiative to answer the call.

"Joyce, where the f*ck are you?" My boss's voice boomed through the phone, his tone seething with irritation.

"I-I'm on my way," I replied, uttering a falsehood as I felt a surge of apprehension about revealing that I was still at home.

"Get your ass over here quickly." The conversation was punctuated by the sounds of chatter and heavy-duty machinery—*toot* *toot*—before my boss abruptly ended the call.

Although I couldn't discern the reason behind his anger, I knew that I had to hasten to my workplace without delay.

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Joyce POV:

*Huff* *Huff*

I arrived at the Empire State Building, breathless and weary from my hurried journey. Swiftly, I headed to the changing room, donning my worn and tattered construction worker attire. Without further ado, I proceeded to the section where I was assigned to work.

Upon reaching my designated work area, I observed a familiar figure from behind—my boss. My stature seemed to shrink involuntarily as I approached him, my footsteps marked by trepidation.

"Boss?" I tried to call out. At the sound of my voice, my boss turned around, his countenance contorted with rage.

Uncertain about the reason behind my boss's seething anger, I couldn't bring myself to meet his gaze directly. I was acutely aware that avoiding eye contact might only stoke his anger further, so I kept my attention fixed on something beyond him.

Only when I shifted my focus beyond him did I discern the root of his ire—the pavement on the wall had collapsed, failing to set properly within the stipulated timeframe. My eyes trailed to the sack of cement used for the task, and I noted the label that read "PPC."

*Tch*

I clicked my tongue softly in exasperation, my inner thoughts echoing my discontent. "Those idiots."

Before long, I found myself on the receiving end of a scathing rebuke from my boss, who threatened to dock my wages for the mishap. Frustration welled within me, and I decided to confront my co-workers about the situation. However, just as I was about to leave, my boss dropped a bombshell.

"Humph, you should have heeded your co-worker's advice," he remarked with a disdainful snort.

'!' I halted in my tracks, bewildered. I turned back to face my boss, my tone now tinged with annoyance as I sought clarification. "What do you mean?"

My boss repeated, this time with a touch of irritation, "Wasn't it your co-worker who recommended using OPC instead of PPC for this job?"

Hearing those words, a seething fury began to brew within me. It was a cruel twist of fate. On the previous day, I had left work early due to the pain in my shoulders, and it was I who had instructed my co-workers to employ OPC instead of PPC for the interior work.

"Consider yourself fortunate that your co-workers vouched for you," my boss declared before taking his leave. However, he couldn't resist delivering one final blow: "And due to your failure to complete the job on time, I'll be deducting a portion of your wages for your tardiness."

I clenched my teeth in frustration, my anger simmering beneath the surface. I prided myself on being an honest, hardworking individual engaged in laborious, low-paying work.

However, I found myself ensnared in a web of deceit, my co-workers orchestrating a setup that had caused my boss to unjustly lay blame on me without a proper investigation.

Frustration surged through my veins like hot lava. I needed a moment to cool down, so I retreated to a secluded spot. Yet, the events that had unfolded continued to replay in my mind, and I couldn't help but mutter in exasperation, "Fuck."

*Chatter*

My ears perked up as I overheard voices—voices I recognized. Instinctively, I sought refuge behind a nearby pillar, and my suspicions were swiftly confirmed—it was my co-workers.

"Phew, I'm relieved we managed to avoid the boss's wrath," one of my co-workers, Harry, sighed with apparent relief.

"I can't help but wonder, though... was it really right to set Joyce up like that?" David, another co-worker, expressed his concerns.

"Come on, David, although we might be in the wrong here, we still vouched for him, preventing him from getting fired. I'm sure he'll forgive us," Jerry, the third co-worker, chimed in, his tone nonchalant.

David's frown deepened as he retorted, "Jerry, don't forget that you're the one who brought the PPC cement while we were mixing the concrete."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Jerry replied, completely devoid of remorse. My forehead veins nearly popped as I muttered, "So it was you."

"Hmm, did you guys hear something?" Harry inquired, apparently catching wind of my presence.

"No," Jerry replied, prompting me to inwardly quip, "Seems like he's deaf after all."

"Alright, let's go talk to Joyce. I'm sure if we come up with a story, we can convince him to forgive us," Jerry proposed, causing my anger to surge.

"Forgive my ass," I muttered through clenched teeth.

Soon, they departed, leaving me to emerge from my hiding place. I couldn't contain my frustration any longer, and I vented my pent-up anger, thoroughly fed up with the situation.

"URGH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" I bellowed, my cry of frustration reverberating through the surroundings. In a fit of exasperation, I ripped my hat from my head.

*Thud*

The hard hat hit the ground with a resounding clatter, the kind typically worn in industrial or construction settings. Memories of the recent events washed over me like a tidal wave, bringing to mind the faces of my co-workers and my boss.

They had continually burdened me with strenuous tasks, simply because I was willing to do them. But in hindsight, it became clear that they had been treating me more like a slave than a human being.

"Do they see me as nothing more than a work slave?" I exclaimed, my voice laden with frustration. "Slaving away at a minimum-wage job, and now they have the audacity to cut my pay just because I couldn't finish the work on time!"

"Do they have any clue about the challenges construction workers endure?" I seethed, my frustration boiling over.

"They're the ones who supplied that lousy cement, and yet, they have the audacity to point fingers at me—not at all of us, but specifically at me!" My teeth ground together in anger, my fury surging like an unstoppable tide within me.

"Education, ha!" I scoffed with bitter sarcasm. "What a joke. They brag about their supposed superior education, yet they can't even differentiate between OPC and PPC."

"It's not about education; it's all about your family background supposedly dictating your success. This world... IT'S UNFAIR!" I roared, my exasperation and rage bursting forth in a torrent of impassioned words.

*crack*

I unleashed my frustration by slamming my fist against the wall, channelling my exasperation toward the perceived injustice. Following the impact, my hand throbbed with pain, though I scarcely registered it amidst the storm of emotions engulfing me. My anger had become an all-consuming haze.

However, within the turmoil of my emotions, an unexpected voice broke through...

[Child]

A gentle voice echoed in my ears.

The unforeseen voice brought a momentary respite to my turbulent thoughts, briefly clearing the fog of anger that had enshrouded my mind.

However, when the mysterious voice spoke again and offered me a deal, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the same anger that had gripped me earlier.

[Do you seek justice?] It inquired.

"Yes," I replied resolutely. Almost immediately, I sensed a surge of power coursing through me, and the voice declared me one of its angelic servants—a 'Herrscher.'

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Herrscher Joyce's POV:

As the dusk settled, I, Joyce, now the Herrscher of Reasons, waited in silence for my awakening. I had dispatched my troops to Roseville to deal with any remaining humans, and the mere thought of gaining more power as I continued to appease my god filled me with satisfaction and delight.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

My triumphant laughter echoed through the air as I relished the sensation of being on top of the world. But in the blink of an eye, my euphoria was shattered by the impact of something hard striking me.

*Clang!*

A responding clang sounded as the metal pipe that had struck me fell to the ground.

"AAAHHH!" I cried out in agony, my hands instinctively clutching my throbbing head as a painful goose egg swelled on my forehead.

"Who dares!" I bellowed with fury, scanning my surroundings for the source of the attack. It was then that my gaze fell upon a peculiar sight—a tall, yellow, rabbit-shaped creature with an enormous grin plastered across its face.

"Who are you?" I demanded an answer, my tone brimming with authority. However, the enigmatic creature paid no heed to my inquiries. Instead, it produced a bracelet from its possession and uttered a single word— "Awaken."

The bracelet sprang to life, and one of its segments detached, undergoing a dramatic transformation into a towering structure that dwarfed even the Empire State Building in size.

The colossal tower started emanating an otherworldly glow, casting an eerie red hue over its surroundings. As I observed this unfamiliar light, an overwhelming sense of foreboding washed over me.

"Death..."

It was an unrelenting sensation of death, and I could feel the impending doom looming over me. The hairs on my body stood on end as terror coursed through my veins.

"NO!" I yelled in fear, the first time I had experienced such raw terror since becoming an angel.

Frantically, I distanced myself from the towering structure, putting about 100 meters between it and me. But the overwhelming feeling of death persisted, and I could almost see the gleaming reaper's scythe in my mind's eye, ready to strike.

Helpless and desperate, I tapped into every ounce of power within my core. I created a protective dome with a thousand layers, hoping it would be enough to shield me from the relentless grip of death. But it was wishful thinking; the sense of death continued to tighten its hold around my neck.

"God, please help me," I pleaded in desperation, my voice trembling. *Rumble* *Rumble* The layers of my protective dome crumbled one by one, intensifying my fear. "Please," I begged with all my might.

Then, a warm embrace enveloped me. I opened my eyes to find an ethereal white hand, its protective touch providing me solace and safety.

"My god!" I exclaimed in joy, believing that it was indeed my god who had come to my aid. The protective embrace of my god's hand filled me with a sense of ease.

However, my initial celebration proved premature as I watched in horror as my god's hand, the very source of my protection, was assaulted by the mysterious light. The hand began to wither away into dust before my eyes.

'!' Before I could utter a word, the light struck me, enveloping my entire existence in its radiant glow. The sensation was excruciating as I felt my body disintegrate, each of my cells withering away.

"ARGH!" I howled in unbearable agony, refusing to accept my impending fate. My body was breaking down, my consciousness fading, but I stubbornly clung to life, doing everything in my power to remain conscious.

As the light dissipated, it left behind a shattered and disfigured form. My lower body and abdomen were gone entirely, and the flesh on the right side of my head had fallen away, along with my right eye.

I couldn't even feel my right upper torso, likely because it had disintegrated into dust. I looked down at my body, horrified by the sight. The flesh near my heart region was gone as well, exposing my still-beating heart beneath, visible through my shattered rib bones.

"I-I survived," I muttered in a low, weak voice.

To be continued...

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A/N: Hope you enjoy the chapter and feel free to comment. Your thoughts and criticism are valuable in helping me improve and stay motivated to write more.

Yeah, I couldn't come up with a name for the Herrscher so I decided to just go with the name of the current era Herrscher of the Reason's name.