Heaven's Descent (I)

July 23, 2054. Thursday. 4:55 pm.

Kiyro had been lying on his bed meditating for the past hour. His mind was antsy and bored, and he needed a way to calm himself. For the past few days, he searched for new jobs and worried about what the man in the skull mask would do. He wouldn't often have dreams about the past, especially about the man in the skull mask.

Something about the man in the skull mask drew him in. What he had said made him wonder what purpose the man in the mask could have for killing innocent students on the college campus grounds. Hundreds of unanswered questions appeared in his head.

Was it planned? Why at the College ground? Was he also a player in the game of Growth? If he is, would I meet him again? What purpose was the murder for? What's the meaning of which wolf would you feed? Kiyro knew he would not get anywhere with questions in his mind. In reality, it was best to be left unanswered as of now.

So he closed his eyes and lay on his bed. Counting his beating heart and inhaling and exhaling every ninth beat. One word was continuously stuck in his mind: Rin. The Strength of Mind and Body. The first of the nine is Kuji Kiri.

He could still remember the noisy sound of the Newscast when he got home from the College Campus. His sister has turned it on to listen to the latest news. Not only did driving back take a whole hour after dropping off Eve, but the news about the death of the two students was aired.

There was nothing specific about the death of the two students except it possibly being a serial murder case. No other information was told, but people were told to come forward and bring any new information about the killer.

Kiyro sighed. His mind was in turmoil, and his concentration broke. At first, he thought that practicing meditation would clear his mind, but he was wrong. This was the one time when his concentration was broken repeatedly. There were too many thoughts going through his mind to even focus.

Today was the last day for the quest to be completed. If he remembered correctly, there were only a couple of quests left. For the past day, the last couple of quests did not budge for some reason. The forum was heated with outrage at the quests not being completed soon. He, too, wondered where the last couple of quests would be held.

He turned to his side and stared at his Alive gear resting on his chair. It had been a week since the last time he dove into the game. In all honesty, he missed the world of Noriene. It was exciting and fun to play in a different world. If he didn't have a problem with money, he would enjoy playing the game for hours.

Kiyro squirmed around uncomfortably on the bed. He remembered Eve's words as if it was like yesterday. Her words were the real reason why his concentration kept on breaking. When his sister dropped Eve off at the house, they had a conversation.

Kiyro walked her up to her apartment. Eve rummaged through her bag to take out a key and opened her doors. She turned around and was just about to say goodbye when she stopped and stared, surprised.

"Kiyro, your eyes!" Eve stared with gaping jaws as she pointed toward him.

"Excuse me?" He stared back, a bit lost with her reactions.

"Here." Eve rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a small hand mirror. She handed it to him in a hurry. Kiyro couldn't help but be a bit curious about her reactions.

Kiyro brought the mirror to his face, and what stared back at him were golden eyes with a feline-like iris. His hands almost lost their grip on the mirror. He fumbled and steadied himself as he looked back into the mirror.

"I-" said Kiyro, lost for words. He did not know how this was possible. Never in his life did his eye's color shift from black to gold, especially into a feline-like iris. What stared back at him made him feel alienated from the real world. Was this a dream? The throbbing headache answered that question in seconds.

This was reality, and what stared back at him was himself. His eyes had a slightly hypnotic look that made him feel dizzy. He shook his head and handed it back to Eve.

I can't believe he has golden eyes. Did he ever have such color before? Eve's thoughts telepathically crossed his mind.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Kiyro asked. He stared at her, confused.

"Are you even human?" Eve poked him on the shoulders, testing to see if everything that happened before them was real. "You're not an alien, are you?" She jokingly said nervously.

The poking got to the point where it annoyed him, and he swatted her hand away from his body. "I'm not sure." Even he was not sure what he was. He did not know where to begin. Especially since he now didn't know if he was human, to begin with anymore. He raised his hands to cover his eyes from her for fear of being called a monster. To this day, he was a normal human being; he was now something else entirely. He just didn't know what.

"This is an interesting predicament." Eve sounded a bit too happy for him. Kiyro couldn't help but peek out in-between his hands. He could see her smile radiating with child-like innocence. A wave of relief poured through his soul, and the gripping fear that he would be seen as a monster was gone. She looked at him as if he was normal, like any other human being. She did not scream or shout, nor was there any sense of disgust in her voice.

The overwhelming relief made him feel at ease, and he was glad that Eve saw him like this first. Eve reached over to his hand to pull it down. She stared directly into his eyes, making him feel uncomfortable.

"It's so beautiful," Eve whispered. Her eyes sparkled with interest, and she held onto his hands tightly. She was inches away from his face; he couldn't help but gulp nervously. Time seemed to stop for a brief moment between Eve and him, and through her eyes, he saw brief pictures of the past times he had spent with her in-game and out of it. So much bickering between him and her. Those past memories were like a fleeting moment, but memories he started to enjoy.

Kiyro's heart began to race, making his hands start to sweat. He pulled back and felt his face turn hot. Then, twirling his hands in a circular motion, he could slip out of her grip and took a couple of steps back.

His mind was frazzled and unable to think straight, and instead tried to control his heartbeat. He was not comfortable with the piercing stare that Eve had given him. In actuality, he did not have much experience in handling females. Usually, they were quick conversations, while on the other hand, his brother did most of the talking.

"You alright?" Eve stepped forward once again. He took another step back unconsciously from her approach. He could feel the heat coming of out his body making him uncomfortable. He noticed that Eve looked more beautiful with each step she took.

"Yes." Kiyro squeaked. "I'll be fine." Trying to stop her from coming closer.

Eve stopped advancing forward and tilted her head in confusion. Then, her eyes turned wide in shock.

"It's going away," Eve said in disappointment. "Your eyes were so beautiful. It's back to normal now. That sucks. I want to see it change back. How were you able to do that?"

"I-I," Kiyro's answer was cut short by Eve's constant barrage of questions.

"Were you born like this? Are you some other supernatural being? How old are you really? Where are you from?"

"One at a time. First, I don't know how it happened, and I'm not sure if I was born like this. Second, I'm just as curious and confused as you."

"I'm sorry." Eve bowed, slightly ashamed. "I couldn't help it. It's like a once-in-a-lifetime supernatural thing that happens. I never believed such a thing is possible."

"This just barely skims the top." Kiyro silently whispered.

"I couldn't hear you. What did you say?"

"Nothing. Just that when I do find the answer, you'll be the first one to know if you stop asking questions now. Even I don't know where to begin." Kiyro sighed. This new mystery was bothering him. He wondered if his sister knew anything about their family background. He never really took the time to research his family's heritage and past histories.

"I need to get going. My sister is waiting for me. I don't want to make her wait." Kiyro replied. He turned his head side-to-side to see if anyone was there watching them and turned to leave.

"I'll call you later if you're up for it."

Kiyro was already walking away and waved goodbye to her without saying a word. He was too busy trying to escape what was happening all at once. He had questions he needed to ask his sister about personally.

Rushing back down, he arrived at his sister's car. He quickly hopped in the passenger's seat and buckled his seat belt.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long. Were you saying your last sweet goodbyes to your girlfriend?" Anna wiggled her eyebrows and gave him a mischievous grin.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Everyone always says that the first time. Later on, everything just unravels, and bam! Your girlfriend and boyfriend. Then moving on to marriage. Finally, a family."

Kiyro sighed. Sometimes his sister had a wild imagination that tended to exaggerate simple scenarios like today. It was difficult to get things across during those times when she was on the run with her wild ideas. "Nevermind about that. I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it? Do you need female advice on dating?"

"No. It has to do with our family bloodline."

"What about it?"

"Well, somewhere down our family tree, did we have some strange powers or weird things that happened?"

"Strange powers? Are we talking about superheroes or supernaturals?"

"Come on, Anna. It would be supernatural."

"Nope. Not that I would know of. Mom never told us about her past or Dad. They never brought up anything except their happy days together." Anna's voice becomes solemn, thinking about their parents. "I miss mom."

Kiyro tapped his forehead, realizing what he had brought up. Old memories left large wounds that did not disappear in both hearts. "I do too. She's probably doing well in heaven now."

"I don't believe in heaven. It's all a lie."

Kiyro was lost for words. He did not know how to change the subject to a happier tone. Throughout the whole ride, their moods were heavy with sadness.

Kiyro sighed. This wasn't the only thing that happened. The following day, he went out towards the back of the apartment and walked a couple of miles. From there on, he was next to a large man-made pond. Rummaging through his pocket, he pulled out the stone. He couldn't help but examine the stone that was in his hand.

Intense dark energy could be felt from the stone. Something about the stone made him quiver from unease. The longer he stared at the stone, the more mesmerized he got. Something about the stone pulled his heart in a darker direction. The struggle was strong when he was about to throw the stone. It wasn't until the last second when a voice cut through his mind yelling, 'Throw it!'

Tearing his gaze away from the stone, without a single thought, he threw the stone into the pond. With a small plunk, it entered the water and disappeared into the depths.

The sudden pull of the darkness was gone and replaced with emptiness. Kiyro felt at peace, finally free from the tug-of-war between his decision to keep it or not.

He heard the sound of machines turning on. He looked over to see that his Sense gear had turned on itself. Then, getting up, he curiously looked around. The plug was in, but he heard it automatically turning on itself.

Was the Real World Quest finally over? Kiyro thought while picking up his Sense gear. He brought it over to his bed and placed it on his head. Laying down, the world around him turned completely black.