Lucian lifted his hand and patted it. “Easy,” he said, looking down at the people crossing below, their death dates all blurring together, Lucian no longer interested in leech parasites.
Gray sky overhead, Lucian began to float away from the crossing.
As he hovered, his two Grim Mechas appeared behind him, his crows taking off, Lucian starting to track them.
He continued down a wide boulevard, noticing that there was a pedestrian bridge on the left with homeless people camped out beneath it, high-end boutiques and hotels not far from the homeless, an assortment of restaurants covering everything from traditional Japanese food to American cuisines.
The sleek streets of Tokyo seemed endless, gleaming as they crawled in all directions, an interminable city.
Continuing along his way, Lucian eventually came to another wide boulevard filled with retail shops, many of which he had seen in malls back in America. Turning to his left, he saw the canopy of trees poofing up over the buildings, and once he reached the area, he came to understand it was a Central Park of sorts, or maybe better, somewhere between the size of Central Park and Boston Common.
A public space, one meant to be shared by all walks of life.
He swooped down into the park, past the entrance, where a busker with an umbrella hat played a drum set, a few people watching and nodding their heads along to the beat. There were joggers in the park despite the rain, couples strolling, and as he circled around the space, Lucian came upon a Japanese temple, people dressed in traditional clothing performing a ceremony.
He smiled. Weather be damned.
After watching the ceremony for a spell, Lucian continued through the park, enjoying his stroll as he came to a series of small ponds with little bridges over them.
He focused on a Western man and an Asian woman standing in front of one of the small ponds, both of them drenched. The man reached into his pocket and knelt, unveiling a wedding ring.
The woman responded with tears and an excited nod, hugging him immediately.
While this was a cute scene, it also reminded Lucian that he was no longer living, that he wouldn’t be able to feel the joy of spending his life with someone.
Then again…
He thought of Danira, quickly shaking his head.
He had no idea where that was going to go, but wherever it went, he could deal with it when he got there.
Yoshimi’s comb took shape in his hand and he flicked it to the ground.
Lucian waited for about a minute before the woman appeared in a flash, her dark robe sinking from her wrists, a knowing look taking shape on her face.
“Yoyogi Park?”
“Is that what this place is?” Lucian asked. “I was just floating around and I stumbled upon it.”
“It is precisely the name of this park. Back when I was alive, and shortly thereafter, it was an Army parade ground. Many Americans lived here at the end of World War II. Now, it is a park. This is one thing you will be able to enjoy as you age into your role. No matter how tall a structure stands or what it stands for, humans have a way of reinventing themselves every generation or so. Anyway. Shall we go?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
She reached her hand out to him, but not before glancing at his two replicants.
“I’m a wanted man,” Lucian said with a shrug. “So nowadays, I keep them with me at all times. Just ignore them.”
She nodded, and they were gone.
Lucian and Yoshimi appeared in her home, erected in front of a gorgeous waterfall, the walls covered in markings indicating the thousands upon thousands of parasites that she had slain.
As usual, they sat in front of a small table, sashimi, sushi, and other Japanese dishes swiftly appearing.
There was also a plate for Lucian’s chocolates. He conjured some of his chocolates, just as Yoshimi handed him a small saucer of tea that had a lemon ginger flavor to it.
“This is excellent,” Lucian said, “as usual.”
“I’m glad you enjoy it. To what do I owe the visit?”
“I figured you would want some updates,” Lucian told her, hesitating. “A lot of things are going down. A lot.”
“What do you mean?”
Lucian explained what happened back at the beach, how his predecessor’s plan had practically kickstarted a war between the Progeny of Light and Darkness, how Azazyel had appeared, and Gaspard had been taken by the Death Hunter known as Wyatt.
“Oh my,” she said once Lucian mentioned the name Wyatt.
“What’s the deal with this guy, anyway? Why is everyone so scared of him?”
“He’s notorious for the extent to which he goes to extract someone’s power. You have killed our own kind before, as have I,” she said, lowering her head. “You are well aware that this process is a near-instant extraction, that it can be done in a moment. That’s not how he sees it.”
“So you’re saying he tortures people?”
“For extended periods of time, even up to a year. Wyatt enjoys watching others suffer.”
“I’ll get back to him later then,” Lucian said as he finished telling her what happened, how he had called his Grimzilla from the sea.
“I’m sure that was exciting.”
“You should’ve seen the looks on their faces…” he said, not able to suppress a grin. Lucian then came to the first big development. “My whole family has the same death date now. The same date as my brother’s, a month, no, less than a month from now. Their dates all changed.”
Yoshimi took a sip from her tea, considering how she should phrase what she was going to say next. “That is concerning,” she finally told him.
“I don’t know how it’s going to happen. I’m trying not to dwell on it, but that’s basically impossible. I’m trying—hoping—to just get stronger. So that brings me to my next little situation I’ve stumbled upon.”
“Yes?” she asked as she ate a piece of the sashimi.
“Mastima has asked me to go after Gaspard with her, and she said that I can absorb Wyatt’s power when we kill him.”
Yoshimi swallowed, a sober look taking shape across her pale white face.
“And you think you will be able to beat him?” she asked quietly.
“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought that far. I just want to get stronger. If I can get stronger, then I should have a chance.”
“The offer is still on the table, you know,” she said, referring to checking out Lucian’s brother herself.
“I know, and I might take you up on that offer. But I have to at least try. I still have enough time to try to do this on my own. Stupid as it seems, that’s important to me.”
“If Wyatt captures you, he will eventually kill you. You know that, right?”
“I know it. And that’s another thing that has sort of come up. Do you remember the angel? The one that I sort of befriended, and who later betrayed me.”
“Yes…”
“She’s back in the picture. Danira showed up at the beach, back when we were having the big fight. She saved me, and then she attacked me. Well, I can’t remember if she attacked me that time or the time before. It’s all starting to blur together. But in the end, when it counted, she actually saved me. And I don’t know what to think of it, but she showed up this morning in my workshop. Even…” Lucian was just about to tell her that Danira lied down on his bed with him, but then he figured that it wasn’t an important detail, so he continued. “Anyway…”
“She merely showed up?” Yoshimi asked. “Did she want something?”
“Funny enough, she wants to join me. She believes the same thing, or at least she is saying she believes it, as my predecessor believes. He’s still alive too,” Lucian told her. “He was in the form of a cat for a while, but now is in the body of one of my mechas. But that’s another story.”
The female Death went for another piece of sashimi. “It sounds like it.”
“So anyway, that’s what I’m planning to do now. Well, I was going to ask what you tho
ught about it, but I’m pretty sure it’s what I want to do.”
“Then by all means, you should try to take Wyatt down,” Yoshimi told him. “But I would be wary of the angel. I know that you may have some interest in her, that she may fascinate you in some way, but we, and by ‘we’ I mean ‘you and I,’ are lone creatures, generally solo hunters. And as much as it feels nice to be around others, in the end, our very nature is solitude. I only say this is a warning: try not to get too attached, and be on your guard at all times.”
“Yeah,” Lucian said, finally picking up his chopsticks. He took a sliver of the sashimi and ate it, noticing that it was perfect, the rice sticky, a slight tang to the meat. She really did know how to do it right.
“I believe that I have perfected that elixir that you wanted,” Yoshimi said as what looked like an expensive whiskey bottle appeared on the table, the liquid inside blue.
“You were able to do it?” Lucian asked.
“I was. Surprisingly enough, you almost had it, but it took just a little bit more, so I used my mantlecore.”
Lucian bowed to her. “You didn’t have to use your own stuff. That’s not what I was asking for. You are too kind, Yoshimi.”
“I’ve tested it as well. It will replenish what you call your Soul Points. Thus far, I’ve only been able to create one. But perhaps, with some time, I will learn to create more and then I will teach you how to create it. I must be honest with you, however. I am not at the stage, at least not yet, that I can show you how to make one. It is quite an exhausting item to conjure. I hope you understand that.”
“No, just having one is…” Lucian couldn’t help but bow again. “You never fail to amaze me.”
“Please, take it. It’s yours. Your desire to persevere amazes me, Lucian. It’s inspiring. Now, let’s relax some and eat to our hearts’ content. We can discuss the problems our kind faces, and the issues you are coming up against, later. For now, let’s eat in silence and enjoy each other’s presence.”
“Yeah,” Lucian said, feeling grateful. “I’d like that.”
Chapter Seven: Trailer Park Trash
Lucian’s form took shape on the beach in Portland, Maine.
Once again, a man moved up the shoreline with a metal detector, pausing for a moment and waiting for his device to register before moving on.
Lucian had to smirk.
As his crows took off toward the water, he wondered what this man was hoping to find, and if anyone ever actually found anything worth a damn on the often painful, rocky beaches of New England.
As he floated closer to the man, Lucian thought about where he personally would have sold pirate treasure if he had stumbled upon some while using a metal detector on the beach.
Online? Was there a pawnshop that would take it? Was there a secret convention of people that met with the goal of selling things they found on beaches to one another?
Lucian almost pulled his smartphone out to Google the query, but decided against it once the man’s metal detector went off.
A tiny shovel in his free hand, the treasure hunter dropped to a knee and started moving sand around until he found…
“A quarter?” Lucian asked, laughing.
But the man seems satisfied, placing the quarter in his pocket and moving back to his task, no doubt inspired by his discovery to stay at the beach another thirty minutes.
Perhaps once Lucian was done with all this, he would take up a hobby like treasure hunting.
Or gaming.
Definitely gaming.
There were so many games he still needed to play, especially with all the remakes coming out. And what would that look like in ten years? Once more games continued to be remade, released along with new games, Lucian would be able to play the same old quests again, just slightly updated.
And what a time dump.
He wouldn’t have been ashamed to admit that he’d definitely spent time within a game doing things like fishing, or searching for treasure with a shovel, or any number of mundane tasks, like trying to collect pine chips in one of the Final Fantasy games.
So who was he to judge a man on a beach in New England hunting for treasure?
Lucian turned and nearly ran into one of his replicants.
The metallic version of Lucian stepped to the side, an indecipherable look on its face considering it wore a skull mask.
“Easy there,” Lucian said, knocking on his creation’s chest with his fist.
The gray skies made it easier for Lucian to see a flash of gold paint across the clouds, followed by a fizzle of silver, signaling that the Progeny of Light had arrived.
His two mechas bristled, their blade arms coming up and lowering once they saw that it was Danira.
The angel lowered before Lucian, her wings starting to shrink almost immediately yet still kicking up a spiral of pale white sand.
“I guess she isn’t here yet,” Danira said, her armor not yet formed. Her features were perfect as always, Lucian noticing the corona of light at the back of her head begin to fade as her form stabilized.
“Mastima?” Lucian looked around as if doing so would somehow reveal the female Death’s location. “No, not yet. She’s not going to be happy to see you.”
“I am well aware.”
“And you’re sure about this?” Lucian asked as she approached. “I mean, you don’t have to go, Danira, not if you don’t want to. Hopefully, Mastima and I can handle this ourselves. She seems to think so. She didn’t mention anything about anyone else tagging along.”
The angel puffed out her cheeks for a moment. “Are you always this stubborn?” she finally asked.
“I always felt like you’re the stubborn one,” said Lucian.
“Please, I’m not stubborn; I’m set in my ways. There’s a difference.”
“Aren’t those the same thing?”
“No,” she said, showing just a bit of her playful side through a subtle grin.
Danira ran her hand through her blonde hair, pressing it over to one side. As usual, she had the blue streak across her eyes, a part of her heritage, the armor currently on her body culminating into a short white dress with golden accents.
Lucian couldn’t help but think of how she’d looked lying in his bed just a few hours back, how much he enjoyed being so close to her.
But he had to keep a wall up, at least for now.
And even if he was pretty sure she was being honest with her newfound intentions, he had to be ready for anything.
Danira had ambushed him before.
“And after, we can hang out,” she reminded him. “I cleared my schedule. Think of it as a little incentive to get out of this alive.”
“Cleared your schedule, huh? You really are something,” he said, a portal opening and Mastima stepping out.
The black-eyed woman immediately drew her double-bladed scythe, flourishing it as a bluish-purple energy sparked all around her, a V knitting across her brow as she locked her dark eyes onto the angel.
“What is the meaning of this?” she asked, alarmed.
“She wants to come with us,” Lucian said, showing the female Death his palms. “Lower your weapon. She’s with me.”
“You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack,” said Lucian, which was technically how he had died in the first place.
“He’s right,” Danira said, not equipping a weapon nor calling forth her full-body armor. “I’m here to offer an olive branch. I want to get to the bottom of what is going on at the top,” she said with a smile reserved for her clever statement. “Like you, I believe that we are being purposely forced into a holy war against one another by the upper echelons of our two Progenies, even if a rogue element on your side fired the first shot.”
Lucian looked to Danira, hoping she wasn’t referring to him.
While he was somewhat of a rogue agent, the first shot had been fired by his predecessor, who was the roguest of all elements.
Lucian returned his attention to the female Death, h
er nostrils flaring wide.
She slowly began to lower her weapon, the muscles on her arm still tense.
Her double-bladed scythe vanished, leaving behind a shimmering sparkle of dark energy that quickly fell to the sand at her feet.
“I shouldn’t trust you,” she told Danira in an almost guttural tone.
“No, you shouldn’t. But I’m here, I’ve prayed about this, and I believe it is the best thing to do for both of our Progenies. I think…” She hesitated as she bit her lip. “There’s a future in which we may not work together, not all of us, but at least we won’t be at each other’s throats any longer. We have stronger, more powerful foes to worry about. I believe this is something that you would readily agree with, from fallen angels to hunters to injuresouls.”
“There was a time when you would lump me into this category as well, a demon as you once called me.”
Danira raised her chin just a little. “That was then, and this is now. I have come to the light.”
“Really,” Lucian added, “she wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t actively interested in helping us achieve our goals.”
After a long pause, Mastima finally nodded. “Then we go.”
A ripping sound met Lucian’s ears, the noise coming from the portal Mastima opened just above the shoreline.
She took a step into the air and floated into it, Danira and Lucian joining her, his mechas taking up the rear, his two crows flying in at the last moment.
The portal opened up on a long stretch of highway, Lucian instantly recognizing it as somewhere in the Southwest.
He took in the road, which stretched for miles over a barren landscape, tawny-colored hills in the distance, a blue sky above, an amber sun beating down on the desert landscape, not a cloud in the sky.
It was what Lucian imagined Route 66 would look like, just an endless stretch of highway through an arid environment, Area 51 somewhere around here, which was yet another place Lucian probably should check out at some point, once he was able to solve his more worldly concerns.
“Come,” Mastima said, turning to the south, her blackened cape swelling around her and then thinning instantly, practically coating her body.
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