Eight years ago...
A creature that looked dressed for a Christmas party: a jumpsuit painted in red, brown and black, a white-based mask with an enthusiastic smile carved across it, and a weird pointed hat with two floppy points, each tipped with a bell.
...
Na: Quagmire, Clown of the Living
Classification: Nightmare
Scarlet Kin – Apocalypse Manifestation
Threat Level: Catastrophe (Uncontained)
...
The clown stood taller than any building in the human domain, tall enough to see for miles in every direction, yet it refused to stay still. It held a scythe nearly as tall as itself, swinging it while its movents shook the earth.
Flas, arrows, wind, earth, anything humans could throw at it... everything in their arsenal at that mont was futile against the Quagmire.
anwhile, sowhere in the Third District, Maroon, a child with hair held in cream locs, sat by the corpses of his entire family.
It took one swing from the Catastrophe-level threat to split his parents in two, parents who did everything they could to protect him.
Worse, the child’s house was destroyed in the process, and all the destruction happening outside—loud, horrific screams, explosions, desperate attempts for survival—ate into his mind.
Yet after sitting near their corpses for what felt like forever, unlike so many who’d lost their minds or their will to shed tears, this kid managed so.
Not a few, not little. The hiccups that wracked him for days were born of his terror that day.
"I had to pray every day to whoever cursed us, hoping... hoping I could beco one. I wanted to be an Akuma too."
Julien rested on his bed, eyes fixated on the white ceiling.
’Akuma’ was what so people without Inheritance called those who had one. It ant "devil"," evil spirit", or "demon."
"Why pray for it? You could’ve been a Royal Knight, an engineer... anything. And if the Quagmire killed your parents, shouldn’t you hate Inheritance?"
Scar eyed Julien peripherally. He rested on his own bed in a similar position.
"Be for real, bro. I wanted to kill the Quagmire. You don’t do that with bruised fists or tal gadgets." Julien clenched his fists. "These sa people who call us Akuma will co running the mont another Catastrophe-level threat appears."
He wore a soft smirk and shrugged his shoulders.
"The last ti a Hostile‑level threat Dreamwalker appeared, most of them were pissing their pants. Even the so-called Royal Knights.
"So don’t expect to care about their opinions when it cos to my vengeance."
Scar smiled.
He had his share of trauma eight years ago. The sa day Julien lost his parents, Scar lost his too, but under different circumstances.
He never saw the Quagmire, even though it was massive enough to be visible from his and Julien’s districts.
All he rembered was being pulled through a window and held tight under soone’s arm to save his life.
Scar abruptly sat upright and turned to Julien.
"Hey... what do you think? Maybe you could co with to visit my old man soti. We’ve got bread. The best around, actually."
Julien turned to him with a confused expression, but it softened in seconds.
"Sure... but you know you need at least two wins in a row before you can go ho, right?"
As soon as he spoke, Scar’s mouth fell open like his jaw had co unhinged. This had nothing to do with the duels and wins, but rather with the old fart, Isaac.
’He’d think I’m gay.’
Of course, he would.
All Scar wanted was to let the man who raised him see his first friend in eight years. Having asked Scar countless tis to bring a lover ho, Isaac was bound to jump to the wrong conclusion.
Scar slapped his forehead in disbelief.
"What’s wrong? You don’t think you can win the rest of your duels?" Julien asked, then imdiately sat upright as well, his eyes sparkling.
"I saw your fight yesterday, Scar. Haven Velanora... she was way too into it. It was like she’d never seen humans before."
He reached for his chin and stroked it for a second.
"Why would she care about you? You don’t look rich enough for soone like her to be your friend. Oh! Now I get it, she looked indifferent because she ca to see All fight... and he lost."
Scar could only give him a lazy stare. He felt so insulted. Sure, he didn’t have five bronze coins to his na and couldn’t even afford half a loaf of bread. But co on...
"You little fucker... so I can’t be her friend, but All can?"
Julien remained deadpan.
"Can you? This afternoon, you nearly died just asking a lady for salt... and she wasn’t even close to Haven’s beauty. What would happen if you actually spoke to her? Piss your pants?"
Scar had no intention of letting it end there. He clapped back, and before long, they were both throwing indirect insults at each other like kids.
While they spoke, a loud and persistent announcent caught their attention. The room had to fall completely silent before they could hear what it said.
"Alert! Intruder detected! A Scarlet Kin is approaching!"
...
Na: None
Classification: Daywalker
Scarlet Kin – Generic
Threat Level: Danger
...
"Ha! A Daywalker."
As re students of the Supre Academy, they could only sit on the sidelines and watch the Moon Killers do their thing... until their levels decreased to tier-5 or below. Only then would the academy be more than a safe haven.
Scar’s mind, though, wandered elsewhere. Due to his situation, being pursued by his nesis Dain, he couldn’t use his Inheritance, at least not in a way that would draw attention. But considering he’d be fighting every week until he reached tier-5, he needed to do more than throw fists.
This reminded him of sothing he’d been thinking about since he got his Inheritance.
The Precognition of Fate remained a loyal servant of the Ruler of Zeus. With their foresight, couldn’t they sense that the Flas of the Unknown still existed?
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