"I can't wait to test out these features! This camera is so awesome!" Adjusting the lens of his camera, the man smiled and ran down the street blissfully until he heard the sound of rustling coming from the bins in the alleyway and stopped.
At the same time, Douma happened to be strolling around the city. Preparing himself to open a discussion with Atlas about the plan; Which could go two ways since there were other problems that could repeat themselves. Mr Fumio postponed the investigation on the strange portal but regardless of that decision on his part, Atlas can't just back off from their position as the human world's protectors. There was an arising threat heading to the human world and they should do something about it to keep the innocent safe.
Then I need to come up with a strong point. A reason to get Atlas on their feet again.
Douma was about to make a right turn when he heard someone or something rummaging through the dumpster in the alleyway followed by munching.
Curiosity got the better of him, Douma followed the sound of the loud noise which led him to the alleyway. The angel spotted the dumpster and froze when he saw something shocking.
Taking a large bite out of the rotten apple in his hand was Vascalidon, the demonic entity that Douma fought back at the old building on the mountain of Rome. The monstrous entity with the rhino horns and mermaid-like body was a subordinate of Ryukushu's, deployed to help the rogue samurai attain the three weapons by staining his hands with the blood of their enemies.
Vascalidon paused and sensed the familiar presence of the angel whom he saw in his peripheral vision, the demon glanced to his side and saw Douma standing a few feet away from him with a grim look on his face. It seems the angel wasn't expecting to see his sworn enemy in the city, not after what happened months ago.
Douma blinked a few times, he can't be seeing things. This beast was standing right here without a scratch that should've been there at the very least; He decimated that glass jar to ashes. Vascalidon should be dead. He couldn't have survived that, nor was escaping an option for him given the state he was in.
A wide smile started creeping on Vascalidon's face. Douma stepped back, his iridescent orbs turned into sharp splits.
"If it isn't the angel of Hasu Mountains. What a small world, I never thought we'd cross paths but here we are." Vascalidon sneered, he took another bite of his rotten apple while maintaining that unsettling stare.
"You're supposed to be dead." Douma was at a loss for words, he found it hard to believe that Vascalidon made it out alive. But he did.
The very last part of their battle replayed in their minds. The moment Douma decimated the glass jar that Vascalidon was trapped in to ashes being the significant highlight that left Vascalidon amused and Douma questioning the aftermath of the battle.
"Like that'll ever kill me. As long as a single aspect of the Binary Inspiral exists, I will always be standing somewhere in this very existence."
Vascalidon grinned when he saw Douma standing very still, trying not to provoke the demon with any sort of indication to fight or back away since Vascalidon might decide to do something drastic, the city was full of walks of life and Vascalidon didn't care if his actions would resort to their demise. He'd just spawn in another location as though nothing happened.
"Even if a specific characteristic of the Binary Inspiral ceases to exist, it will still be present in the minds of the vast creations from the microscopic to the titans. So beyond the narrative it's essential with properties that will never falter. Humans have never witnessed a Binary Inspiral right before their very eyes, I can do a demonstration starting here, after all the laws of physics are in my fingertips. Before their puny legs start running this universe will become a desolate wasteland, it'd be interesting to watch that unfold, wouldn't you agree?"
A luminescent spark flickered on Vascalidon's palm, Douma winced and got ready to halt its formation when the glowing orb vanished within a second. The angel stood his ground, he had to keep an eye on Vascalidon in case he decided to do another trick.
"I'm the bane of a black hole, white hole, and grey hole's existence. They wouldn't want to collide with each other but to help them get over that fear I'd drag them all together and watch them settle their differences at the expense of their surroundings. Sometimes you just have to do a little experiment and watch what happens to ease that curiosity that keeps gnawing in your head." The demon said in that low fear-inducing voice of his that sent chills.
"You still have room to talk, maybe the next experiment will include you as the subject." Douma replied in a subtle tone, he was going to fight Vascalidon if it means sending him back to hell permanently or repeating the same instance over and over again until the demon decides to perish.
"Trying to keep your cool by acting all tough and brave. I know you're panicking, I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you angel."
Douma narrowed his eyes at the demon with the rotten apple in his hand. I'd stuff you in that dumpster if it means shutting you up first.
Trembling in his spot, the man who was very much excited to unleash the potential of his camera cried when he saw a floating apple beside a dumpster in an alleyway. There was a young man with platinum blonde hair standing in front of it with a serious expression, the photographer couldn't understand what was going on. Why wasn't the blonde afraid? Any sane person would get out of there in an instant.
He heard voices coming from the floating apple's direction and it startled him. Was the blonde talking to that floating apple? It wasn't just some fruit, it appeared that somebody was holding it, an invisible person which could only mean one thing.
Out of fear, the photographer didn't know what he was instinctively doing as someone who always held on to his camera but he decided to do something bizarre. The man slowly raised his camera up and looked at the screen.
To his horror, there was nobody standing near the dumpster, he only saw the floating apple moving about in the air. The photographer gulped when he lowered his camera several times to look at the blonde who didn't appear on the screen. His breath caught in his throat at the possibility of something supernatural occurring right in front of him. The young man was clearly standing there this couldn't be some sort of glitch the camera was working fine earlier.
"What... on Earth..." The man muttered, his hands grew cold and the camera in his hold started shaking as he shivered. None of this was adding up he wished he didn't make this wrong turn down the alleyway. The photographer tried to convince himself it was daytime and perhaps he was just seeing things but what he caught on his camera begged to differ.
Vascalidon glanced at the man and smiled eerily. "We've got company." His low menacing voice sent another wave of shivers down the man's spine.
Curling his fingers on the golden fan in his pocket, Douma stifled his foot on the ground on purpose as a warning to Vascalidon that if he tries to lay a finger on the man, he'd be initiating a fight. The demon seemed to have noticed this warning and gritted his teeth.
"I've gotta get out here!" The man yelped and took off running down the street. His words were incoherent which means nobody will bother setting foot in this particular part of the city however the demon in this quiet alleyway wouldn't hesitate to turn things upside down if given the chance. His twisted view on humanity will never change.
Vascalidon turned to face the angel and snorted. "I shall make my leave too." The demon said, lashing his tail threateningly.
Douma winced, what could this putrid creature be planning? He couldn't let Vascalidon get away.
Before the angel could question the twisted beast, Vascalidon's appearance wavered and he began levitating to the sky when the transparency from his ability took effect. "Hold your horses. We'll meet again."
That low chilling voice along with Vascalidon's appearance vanished into thin air leaving Douma all by himself in the alleyway. Bewildered by this meeting. Douma knew that at some point, Vascalidon will start crawling out of the shadows again and sabotage the mission; Plotting with the enemy as long as he fulfills the gruesome ambition that he has. Every demon is equipped with that kind of mentality there's never been one that opposes such atrocities.
"He's on the radar too." Douma released his grip on the golden fan in his pocket and left the alleyway. Stepping onto the busy streets of the city requires steadiness and composure so as to not give away one's otherworldly identity to the clueless.
~~~
In the darkest corners of this strange gritty liminal space devoid of spark, a tall man with chains pouring down his monotone hair and a luminous collection of monstrous skulls surrounding his neck hovered towards the lower levels in search of something discrete.
A bioluminescent creature holding a spear with a red gem studded on the top hovered down to the chambers and furrowed his eyebrows when he saw the strange man in an area no trespasser should be.
"Who are you and how did you get in here?" The guard shouted at the man. "You're not supposed to be here! Leave this instant!"
Chaos turned to look at the man with a very dull look on his face, even the guard questioned his intentions but how the entity got in this prison didn't make any sense. Nothing could pass the guards at the entrance nor the meticulous security systems put in place. These chambers were devoid of any connection to the outside world and existence itself. The worse criminals in all of Astrotopia were here.
Devoid of their own awareness and consciousness. Nothing could reach this place, they'd begin to question their existence and the construct of reality.
That glowing manetine-looking cape that the guard wore flared the moment he pointed his spear at Chaos furiously. "How did you get pass the guards? It's impossible." The red gem was blinking profusely, as though it was warning the entity to stay back while the guard pull a trick under his sleeve.
"Call the reinforcements- The guard panicked when he heard what the voice at the other side told him.
"They're all dead? But how that's impossible! We've got a whole army of them outside the chambers!"
"It seems your forces are no match for me and this is supposed to be the most restricted prison in the entirety of Astrotopia? Don't try to joke around with me if you can't even handle your own internal problems." Chaos inched closer to the guard, causing him to stutter at his words.
The guard tightened his grip around his staff and shunned the entity threateningly with his prestigious weapon. "You stand no chance against us. You will leave this place for good-
Chaos sped up towards the guard and placed a palm on his shoulder, causing him to stay frozen in place while his body started wavering like a glitched image on a screen. The same words kept repeating in his mouth until his limbs decapitated into strings of particles and his voice quivered into silence.
The staff released by the hand of the guard fell into the hands of Chaos as he faced it down at the dome-like structure on the ground and fired a beam of mercury energy that destroyed both the structure and weapon he was holding. The bright red gem shattered into pieces and vanished into nothingness.
Chaos flew down to the lower levels of the chambers ignoring the sirens in the background. He looked around and saw three pillars within this platform he was on.
Once again, he fired the same beam that struck one of the pillars, leading to an immense explosion in the entire prison, one that could be heard right at the entrance which was a portal that only the merchant could summon. It must be unstable if the happenings in the prison were causing it to have a severe reaction.
"Hello? What's going on?" There was somebody else in the chambers, their footsteps sounded lost and demented. "Is anyone there? It's loud and really noisy." That chalk-sounding voice seemed to be getting closer to where Chaos stood.
The entity placed a skin-crawling hand on the newcomer's shoulder, causing whoever this person was to jump back in total shock. "W-who's there!"
"Listen, I need you to cooperate with me if you want to get out of here alive, understand?"
"Uh yeah sure, those capsules are stuffy you wouldn't want to be in one of those."
"Good, now listen closely. Your powers are capable of getting us out of here without having to deal with the guards and security of this place."
This new ally of Chaos' nodded, his eyes wavered to the corner where he saw dust rising up from the platform.
"I'll release your friends while you do what you have to." Chaos stood behind his new ally, watching as the person in the helmet and maroon armor with a tank of molten liquid in his chest started accumulating a wave of thermo-dynamic energy that shook the chambers to their core.
This void liminal space became nothing more than a concrete building as the new ally's power crumbled the walls and ceiling like blocks with minimal effort.
Quietly, Chaos flew to the remaining pillars, impressed by the power of his new ally. This team he envisioned could be functional if handled well. It's no wonder they were imprisoned here for so long. Their presence would cause a lot of problems on the surface but they'd bring a platoon of benefits on his part.