Phase 1: History of a Relic
The screams and yells of the sterile and white paneled room. Blood splattered on the two way mirror that men wearing surgeon’s uniforms and other’s wearing black suits were observing from. They were writing down notes on notepads in silence, not fazed by the bloodcurdling screams, the sobbing pleas for mercy and the whimpering of the maimed, cowards and injured.
In the room however, one young man stood tall watching this horrific scene. The fighters were mere children. The ages in there were 11, 13, 16 and 17. He was on the latter part of the age range. These were children he knew well. These were children he looked after. He was scared, not of death but of killing such young human beings.
Something flew at him. The boy caught it with unbelievable speed and looked at the object flung at him. He shuddered and felt sick. It was a head of a young girl, her brown hair matted in blood, her eyes still crying and he swore he heard the crying sobs from the severed head. The girl must have been in the young end of the age range.
He was disgustingly mesmerized by the sobbing head her held in his hand, he lifted it to face level; as a blade stabbed through it. If not for the head, the boy would be among the dead bodies laying on the ground.
His eyes filled with tears as he roared angrily with grief and disgust. His hands lighted up and his Guard appeared and the dual katana sliced the would-be killer in half. He kicked out somehow sensing that someone was upon him and leapt forward stabbing the boy through the shoulders and his feet planted on the boy’s collarbone and he pulled back, practically rending the boy’s arms useless.
The boy yelled in pain and fear as the young man spun around and sliced his head off with one stroke. He turned instantly and stabbed a girl through the left eye with his right katana and pulled it out horizontally to the right then stabbed her in the torso and flung her over his head into a wall with such force the body exploded into a mush of bone, blood and guts.
‘Interesting young man,’ a woman in a black dress observed as the boy ripped, sliced and killed.
‘He has proven himself as one of the jewels of the Phoenix Project,’ an older man replied as he stroked his beard.
Back in the room, the young boy faced one last opponent. It was a girl his age. Beautiful, slender, fit and whose connections with the boy ran deep. She had light blue hair that was cut short, her eyes were also light blue, the boy compared to the blue sky on a cool sunny day. She held two daggers that made the air shimmer because of how cold there were.
‘…so it has to end like this…’ the girl said sadly to the boy. They both wiped blood from their faces. They stood amongst the dead but in this moment both felt like they were alone in a grassy field on a summer’s day.
Both remembered that day where they ran, laughing, smiling and enjoying life together. They had laid under a tree with lightly swaying branches, the boy embracing the girl who sat away from him on his lap.
They stayed like that for moments that felt like pure centuries. The boy had a red face as he whispered something to the girl, she reacted by turning to face him before kissing him happily. They made a vow that day as well….
‘Yeah…’ the boy said looking down as his hands gripped his katana tighter and they both leapt at each other.
The boy only remember that moment though. The red blood mixing with the blue hair, blue eyes and fair skin. The smile on her face, that sad smile as she gripped the crosspiece of the katana the boy heard…the blade impaling her left lung and stomach. She had purposefully committed suicide.
‘….Yuki?’ the boy managed to whisper as tears filled his eyes as he let go of his blade and clenched the girl.
‘…heh, guess you win again,’ the girl called Yuki said weakly smiling cheekily as a tear slid down her cheek.
‘W-why?’ the boy asked sobbing.
‘Because…you are the only one…who…can love…people…and who…can…change…our…world…’ Yuki said through coughs and shuddering breathes.
‘Yuki, don’t leave me, please….I can heal you!’ the boy exclaimed desperately knowing his healing skill was not good enough to heal those wounds.
‘I…love…you…’ Yuki gasped as she sat up shakily, kissing him as she died in his arms. The boy pulled away and stroked her head as the tears fell down his cheeks freely.
‘….nnnnnnnnRRRRRARRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHH!!!’
The sound of a door opened as a woman wearing a white outfit and a mask walked out holding a sheathed katana.
‘Congratulations Subject X-0, you have killed Subject Y-1, please accept this artificial Guard: Juu-gggaaahhhhhhrrracck!’ the woman choked as the young boy looked at the woman with raged filled eye as he squeezed her neck tighter, he felt tight hands grip his wrist as the woman flailed about in desperation. His eyes widened as his fist clenched with a wet squishing sound as he crushed her throat, popping the woman’s head off.
‘Her name was Igarashi Yuki,’ the boy said in a dangerous low voice as he grabbed the fallen katana and drew it, a dark energy flowed out; filled with chaos, anger and violence.
A bloody one man rampage, no mercy, no one spared as the torn young man killed everyone in his sight; his sight with filled with red. The katana he held sliced, cut and stabbed anyone who was in his line of vision.
His kill count that day was over 200 fighters and 3800 civilians, staff and higher ups.
He sat alone in the burning wreckage he once called home. His head bowed over as his hands rested on the grounded katana he used to spill the blood of over 4000.
‘That blade is evil, young man,’ an elderly voice spoke to him, it was deep and wise. The young man stood up with his blade raised when a flurry of movement from the old man and the blade was spinning out of his grasp several metres away.
‘What do you know old man?’ the young man sneered as he balled his fists up ready to fight.
‘I know that blade better than anyone and by the looks of the energy I sensed from it, you fed more power and you let you yang take over,’ the elderly man said nodding his head in understanding.
‘…Gah! You know nothing! I killed my childhood friend, watched my other friends, kouhai and senpai get killed in that fucking accursed place…what the fuck do you know?’ the young man shouted angrily at him, his hand glowed light blue.
‘Air Seal Restraint, Air Lock,’ the elderly man shouted firmly and the young’s man hand stopped glowing and he forced down to the ground with tremendous force.
‘You know nothing of the real world, young man,’ the elderly man said as he handed him another sheathed blade different to the one that was knocked out of his hand.
‘What is this?’ the young man spat at the older man with some contempt and disbelief.
‘You will need it more than me,’ the elderly man replied taking no offense as the young man snatched it and suddenly felt a wave of air rush through him, he felt lighter, as if a great pressure was just lifted off of him, the older man smiled, ‘There isn’t that better young man?’
‘My name isn’t young man geezer…my name is Xero Seraphim’
