Author: PeacefulMyst

Editor: Stein

***

Abraham walked through the somewhat empty street. It was quiet and the place had a refreshing charm to it. There were barely any people walking around as it was turning dark. Abraham walked through the street with steady steps with a disgruntled look.

‘I’ve spent the entire day trying to find that boy, yet I still haven’t found him!’ Abraham was quite annoyed. He had wandered around the entire town trying to find the boy from the ritual, but each time he got close he would just miss him. He tried asking others for his whereabouts and he found them, but unfortunately, he was never home. ‘It’s turning dark.. He has to come back to his house this time. I must find him no matter what.’

Abraham steadied his steps as he walked towards the boy’s house. Currently, Abraham was filled with paranoia. His back muscles tensed and he began sweating as he approached the house. The house itself had nothing particularly special about it. It mixed in with the other ones around it and it was hard to distinguish between them. Abraham slowly approached the door and knocked on it thrice. He waited for a while but didn’t get a response. ‘Sigh. He lives alone so I couldn’t even contact someone to let me know when he was back… I did tell the neighbours but I doubt they would bother. It seems he still isn’t back yet.’

Abraham knocked on the door thrice once again, But he still didn’t get any response from inside. There was nothing but utter silence in the house.

Just as he had begun returning, he heard the sounds of footsteps from the inside. Suddenly, A light flashed through the windows beside the door and the door opened. Abraham felt a strange sense of relief and excitement as the voice spoke from the half-open door. “You’re quite the stubborn one aren’t you… Speak, what do you want?”

Spoke a boy with brown hair and darkish eyes. The boy looked roughly ten years younger than Abraham. He seemed to be in his teens. His height came all the way to Abraham’s shoulders and he had a seemingly circular chin with soft and light skin. “I come with no harm. I know you are a believer of the deity called Calamity. I have a req-”

Before Abraham could finish what he was about to say, the boy cut him off “What the hell are you saying? I believe in the Omniscient and Omnipotent Ancient creator! Not some Calamity and what not…!”

This pissed Abraham off. He had spent an entire day searching for this kid and now he’s feigning ignorance. “I have seen that body take over ritual! You think you can fool me with this level of-”

“Go back or else I’ll inform the guards. You can explain to them about this “calamity” yourself then.” The young boy responded with a smile. Abraham had no choice but to swallow his frustration and leave the place. ‘Tch. Does he seriously think I will fall for something like that?’

Abraham scoffed inwardly. He began walking back to his house. ‘No… I ought to think rationally. I still probably have one or two weeks left… I will take this time to get close to him and then I will slowly convince him to help me. That’s right.. I mustn't be hasty’

Currently, Abraham’s mind was clouded with paranoia. He had a strange sense of urgency to fix his current condition. ‘Time to go back… I need some sleep.’

***

‘What a stubborn bastard…’ The boy went back inside his house after making sure that Abraham was gone. The house was dark. And it was hard to see anything. The boy tapped his forehead twice and his vision lightened. He could now see everything with clarity.

‘It seems that guy witnessed that ritual… But how did we not sense him? Does he have some sort of treasure that blocks people from sensing him?’ The boy thought of several things that could’ve happened. He entered an empty room with no windows. He took out three candles and put them on the ground in the shape of a triangle. He went into a room nearby and brought a strange jar with him. He opened the lid of the jar and placed it on the ground. The jar gave off a strange stench. ‘Alright then…’

The boy dipped his hands in the jar and took them out revealing a hand covered with, and of no surprise, blood. The boy drew a circle covering the boundaries of the triangle. And then he drew strange patterns which covered the exterior of the triangle. He then drew a circle in the middle of the triangle and wrote some words in a strange language outside the circle that was in the triangle.

He placed another candle in the middle and got up. It didn’t take him even more than a minute to finish all of this. It was done at a relatively hasteful speed. “The creature that lives in the crescent castle in the dreamworld! The seekers of the calamity! The messenger of Auernia! Heed my call!”

As soon as the boy finished speaking, the atmosphere became cold. There were certain fluctuations in the air inside the room. And in the blink of an eye, a skeleton figure with the head of a goat and only a spine to support it came out from the ceiling. “W o u l d… Y o U… l i K e… T o c O n v e e y.. a… m e s s a g e… o r t r a n s f e r… a n I t e m?”

The skeleton figure spoke in a trembling voice. The young boy responded “Tell Auernia to investigate a man named Abraham… He knows.”

The messenger stood dangling on the ceiling in complete silence.

The boy waited for a bit before letting out a chuckle. “That is all.”

***

Gentle sun rays came in and illuminated Abraham’s room through the window. It was morning. There was a fresh smell in the air and the atmosphere felt cheerful and cool.

Abraham woke up and washed his face. He changed into suitable clothes and began heading out to Vincent’s place. He wanted to make a plan as soon as possible. He slowly approached the house and gently knocked on the door. ‘No response.. Is he sleeping?’

Suddenly, a voice which was not Vincent responded from inside. “It’s open.”

Abraham flinched. He hurriedly opened the door and rushed inside. To his surprise, he found two unfamiliar figures apart from Vincent inside.

“Who the hell are you?” Abraham asked calmly. But he had placed his hands firmly on the knife in his pockets. Ready in case the people in front of him are a fow.

The two people looked at Abraham and let out a chuckle.

One of them responded casually, “The calamity’s followers.”

***

Why do people want immortality so much? Do they not know what it even means? -St. Ein