Unknown Location
In a city beyond the view of mortal beings, six figures stood shrouded by shadows, in a circle around an empty throne of grand design. The silence in the room was almost suffocating, as each member stood. They could not speak, could not even move, until the time was right.
Suddenly, before them all, an odd grey glow emerged from the throne.
"It would appear that truly is time..." One of the figures spoke, a grieving tone to his voice.
"Honestly, I had rather hoped it would never come to this." A second said, reaching out to hold the throne. "But it is necessary. We must locate the successor, before it is too late. Let us activate the system."
With a series of nods, each of the shadowy figures approached the throne and did the same, causing the grey glow to grow stronger.
After about ten minutes, they stepped back, as small bands of grey light began to split away from the throne, flying off briefly before appearing to vanish.
"And now, we have no choice but to wait." A third member said. "We must hope that a candidate is successful in time, or we shall all fail. We must find the blood that shall unite us, or blood will be what divides us."
-----
Hunters Creek City, Saturday Morning
Joseph Moore
Joseph sat up from his bed with a start, taking a moment to pat himself down and make sure everything was right. That dream... It was so realistic...
He could even remember every intricate detail on the th-... No... What was it again?
The more he tried to focus his thoughts on the dream, the more he forgot. He continued to sit in his bed, desperately trying to retain any details, but unfortunately, almost all of it faded away rather quickly.
All except the last sentence.
Find the blood that shall unite us, or blood will be what divides us.
He shuddered at the phrase, which gave him the chills whenever he thought about it for some reason, and finally managed to grab his phone and check what time it was.
Seven o'clock. About time he got up to take his morning walk. Sighing again, he managed to drag himself away from the he'd entirely, the last of the sheets falling off his arms.
And that was when he noticed the markings on his arm.
It took less than a second to realise how his mother would take him getting a "tattoo", regardless of whether he'd known about it or not.
And so, after getting dressed, he carefully snuck past the exercise room, from which he could already hear his parents training, and left the house before either of them could hear him.
This... This was going to be a problem...
------
Elijah Keaton
Across the city, a Elijah stood in the cities church, surrounded by other priests.
"So I'm the only one?" He asked.
"Yes." One of the oldest priests in the church, Father Lucas, said. "Or at least, you're the only one in our church. I'm sure there would be many others in our churches in other cities."
"I see..." Elijah said, a small frown on his face.
"Do not worry, Elijah." Lucas said, patting him on the shoulder. "Your brothers and sisters will be there to support you every step of the way. We will do whatever we can to ease your burden. You will do the same for us when you become king, after all!"
At that, the elderly priest gave a loud chuckle, and Elijah grinned and nodded.
"Thank you, Father Lucas. I will do my best to survive for all of you."
And with that, he walked into the streets, his spear concealed by bundles of cloth and strapped to his back.
He would fight for his family.
No matter how much it hurt him.
------
Akihito Izami
Izami sat in an alleyway, waiting in the shadows.
As she sat, she slowly used small, but noticeable amounts of magic, to the point where any magic user with enough talent would find their way to her fairly quickly. Normally, this might not be as appealing an option, as there would be little reason to approach a mage with as sloppy control as she was pretending to have. As a matter of fact, it would generally be discouraged, with a large chance to end up getting caught in any failed spells and blown up yourself!
Now however, following these kinds of magic signatures could easily lead a hunter to its prey. The King Candidate System had started, and weak mages were an easy target. Whether they were actually candidates or not mattered little. They would all be caught in the net and culled, just in case.
"Well well, what have we here?" A voice said from the other side of the alley. "A young mage working on their magic? Now why would you be doing that, and so sloppily as well? It's almost as if you feel you need your skills to be up to scratch as quickly as possible!"
A man walked towards her. Angelic, by the looks of him. In response, she remained silent, merely standing up to face him. There was no real need for a conversation here.
"Not even going to contribute to our conversation, are you?" He asked, his smile fading. "Ah well, if you insist. I suppose its nice to not have to speak with a filthy demon like yourself. And considering your magic talent, I doubt I'll even need to use the powers of my brand to defeat you! Instead, I will merely show you how a real mage fights!"
And as he spoke, a fireball appeared in his outstretched hand, before flying towards her.
And Izami smirked.
As the fireball flew through the air, she sprang into action, kicking her feet against the wall to spring her towards the angel, and deftly moving beneath the growing fireball, which exploded loudly against the wall. Seeing her rapid approach, the angel casually drew a rapier from his belt, apparently deciding he could deflect her sword rather easily.
"Well, I suppose that was somewhat impressive, but now you wish to fight me, Lord Cerius, with a sword? I pity your foolishne-"
And then he stopped, the downward slash he had been planning suddenly out to his side. Before he could even register why that might be, he became aware of an intense pain in his abdomen.
"W-what?" He asked, staring into Izami's eyes.
"Looks like you were actually pretty fuckin' weak." She replied, before sighing and yanking her sword out of his stomach. "I was hoping for someone stronger for my first fight... Or, you know, less of a goddamn cartoon character. You were a disappointment on every damn level."
"Y-you insolent demon scu-"
And then she slashed him across the throat, leaving the angel unable to talk any longer.
"Shit, I know I didn't expect you to be a gracious loser, but I'd still kinda hoped you would be, you know?"
Tired of talking to the dying angel, she gave him one last kick for funzies, before climbing to the rooftops, ready to find a new ambush point.
In a city beyond the view of mortal beings, six figures stood shrouded by shadows, in a circle around an empty throne of grand design. The silence in the room was almost suffocating, as each member stood. They could not speak, could not even move, until the time was right.
Suddenly, before them all, an odd grey glow emerged from the throne.
"It would appear that truly is time..." One of the figures spoke, a grieving tone to his voice.
"Honestly, I had rather hoped it would never come to this." A second said, reaching out to hold the throne. "But it is necessary. We must locate the successor, before it is too late. Let us activate the system."
With a series of nods, each of the shadowy figures approached the throne and did the same, causing the grey glow to grow stronger.
After about ten minutes, they stepped back, as small bands of grey light began to split away from the throne, flying off briefly before appearing to vanish.
"And now, we have no choice but to wait." A third member said. "We must hope that a candidate is successful in time, or we shall all fail. We must find the blood that shall unite us, or blood will be what divides us."
-----
Hunters Creek City, Saturday Morning
Joseph Moore
Joseph sat up from his bed with a start, taking a moment to pat himself down and make sure everything was right. That dream... It was so realistic...
He could even remember every intricate detail on the th-... No... What was it again?
The more he tried to focus his thoughts on the dream, the more he forgot. He continued to sit in his bed, desperately trying to retain any details, but unfortunately, almost all of it faded away rather quickly.
All except the last sentence.
Find the blood that shall unite us, or blood will be what divides us.
He shuddered at the phrase, which gave him the chills whenever he thought about it for some reason, and finally managed to grab his phone and check what time it was.
Seven o'clock. About time he got up to take his morning walk. Sighing again, he managed to drag himself away from the he'd entirely, the last of the sheets falling off his arms.
And that was when he noticed the markings on his arm.
It took less than a second to realise how his mother would take him getting a "tattoo", regardless of whether he'd known about it or not.
And so, after getting dressed, he carefully snuck past the exercise room, from which he could already hear his parents training, and left the house before either of them could hear him.
This... This was going to be a problem...
------
Elijah Keaton
Across the city, a Elijah stood in the cities church, surrounded by other priests.
"So I'm the only one?" He asked.
"Yes." One of the oldest priests in the church, Father Lucas, said. "Or at least, you're the only one in our church. I'm sure there would be many others in our churches in other cities."
"I see..." Elijah said, a small frown on his face.
"Do not worry, Elijah." Lucas said, patting him on the shoulder. "Your brothers and sisters will be there to support you every step of the way. We will do whatever we can to ease your burden. You will do the same for us when you become king, after all!"
At that, the elderly priest gave a loud chuckle, and Elijah grinned and nodded.
"Thank you, Father Lucas. I will do my best to survive for all of you."
And with that, he walked into the streets, his spear concealed by bundles of cloth and strapped to his back.
He would fight for his family.
No matter how much it hurt him.
------
Akihito Izami
Izami sat in an alleyway, waiting in the shadows.
As she sat, she slowly used small, but noticeable amounts of magic, to the point where any magic user with enough talent would find their way to her fairly quickly. Normally, this might not be as appealing an option, as there would be little reason to approach a mage with as sloppy control as she was pretending to have. As a matter of fact, it would generally be discouraged, with a large chance to end up getting caught in any failed spells and blown up yourself!
Now however, following these kinds of magic signatures could easily lead a hunter to its prey. The King Candidate System had started, and weak mages were an easy target. Whether they were actually candidates or not mattered little. They would all be caught in the net and culled, just in case.
"Well well, what have we here?" A voice said from the other side of the alley. "A young mage working on their magic? Now why would you be doing that, and so sloppily as well? It's almost as if you feel you need your skills to be up to scratch as quickly as possible!"
A man walked towards her. Angelic, by the looks of him. In response, she remained silent, merely standing up to face him. There was no real need for a conversation here.
"Not even going to contribute to our conversation, are you?" He asked, his smile fading. "Ah well, if you insist. I suppose its nice to not have to speak with a filthy demon like yourself. And considering your magic talent, I doubt I'll even need to use the powers of my brand to defeat you! Instead, I will merely show you how a real mage fights!"
And as he spoke, a fireball appeared in his outstretched hand, before flying towards her.
And Izami smirked.
As the fireball flew through the air, she sprang into action, kicking her feet against the wall to spring her towards the angel, and deftly moving beneath the growing fireball, which exploded loudly against the wall. Seeing her rapid approach, the angel casually drew a rapier from his belt, apparently deciding he could deflect her sword rather easily.
"Well, I suppose that was somewhat impressive, but now you wish to fight me, Lord Cerius, with a sword? I pity your foolishne-"
And then he stopped, the downward slash he had been planning suddenly out to his side. Before he could even register why that might be, he became aware of an intense pain in his abdomen.
"W-what?" He asked, staring into Izami's eyes.
"Looks like you were actually pretty fuckin' weak." She replied, before sighing and yanking her sword out of his stomach. "I was hoping for someone stronger for my first fight... Or, you know, less of a goddamn cartoon character. You were a disappointment on every damn level."
"Y-you insolent demon scu-"
And then she slashed him across the throat, leaving the angel unable to talk any longer.
"Shit, I know I didn't expect you to be a gracious loser, but I'd still kinda hoped you would be, you know?"
Tired of talking to the dying angel, she gave him one last kick for funzies, before climbing to the rooftops, ready to find a new ambush point.
