CHAPTER 15.5: ASHES IN THE STREETS
The Savior Among the Ashes (Luther)
The streets of Eden felt heavier tonight.
The scent of lavender and ozone, which usually drifted through the city's upper levels, was drowned by the faintest whiff of ash. A black haze settled low, clinging to the seams of the white stone walkways.
Luther walked them alone, his long coat catching faint streetlight as he passed.
Behind him, whispers followed like a ripple.
"It's him Mommy," a child murmured.
"The Savior."
"The Guardian."
"No," someone else said, softer. "The Weapon."
"Shhhh are fucked."
He didn't look at them.
Didn't answer.
Children stared at him from behind their mothers' skirts... wide-eyed and silent. The grown men lowered their eyes. Shopkeepers froze as he passed their stalls. Some crossed themselves in the way the priests of Eden had taught them; others simply stepped aside as though a storm was moving through the avenue.
Every so often, he heard a prayer uttered under breath... not for him. Against him.
"He keeps the Akuma at bay."
"He brings the Akuma here."
"He's proof we are winning."
"He's proof we've already lost."
Luther heard it all.
And said nothing.
Because he didn't trust what might come out of his mouth if he did.
He passed a little boy sitting on a curb who stared up at him, round-eyed and terrified.
Luther slowed, paused.
The boy flinched.
And Luther's fingers twitched, just slightly, before he moved on.
Behind him, faint murmurs:
"Does he even sleep?"
"Does he even bleed?"
"I heard that he doesn't feel anything nor does smile anymore ,ever since he lost his cheek."
His fists clenched at his sides. His lattice glyphs flared faintly, golden veins lighting his forearms. He could hear Naomi's voice again, whispering from memory:
"Leave them Luther, they don't deserve you. They don't need a hero... they don't deserve a savior."
"Do you know what they need... Deep down you do know darling.."
He walked faster.
...
Mr. P's Lab of Chaos
Somewhere far below, the real chaos roared.
Mr. P sat cross-legged on his desk, wearing a suit jacket over pajamas and a bright floral tie that did not match anything in the room. His sunglasses glimmered in the dark as he spun lazily in place, sipping something that was either coffee or motor oil.
The lab looked like a war crime.
Wires snaked across the floor in every direction, half the lights flickered between colors, and his clones argued bitterly in the background... Clone 7 waving a wrench threateningly at Clone 18, who was wearing Clone 3's mask and singing off-key.
On the main terminal in front of him, the faint pulse of a signal still glowed.
ELIAN: PULSE CONFIRMED.
Mr. P's smile was faint.
He leaned his chin into his palm.
And whispered:
"You really are alive, aren't you, boy…?"
He didn't move even when the door behind him slammed open.
"You!" barked a furious voice.
Genna Vrae stood there, flames dancing faintly along her shoulders, her eyes glowing with barely contained wrath. Behind her, Envy floated in silently, and Callus followed with his usual smirk, idly polishing an ancient Akuma fang like it was fine silverware.
Mr. P didn't even turn.
"Oh hello, hello, Eden's least favorite karaoke group ughhh oh my god...," he said sarcastically. "Come to see how the genius sausage gets made?... well sorry to disappoint you i dont do live shows for idiots....Oppsie"
"Enough you foolish oak," Genna snarled. "We are out of time, Shinomiya. Whatever you're building, finish it... Now. Or we finish you."
Mr. P took another long sip from his mug.
"Ah yes," he mused aloud. "Motivational death threats. A management classic as usual. Sometimes i think we should change the script."
"You're a fool," Envy hissed, voice cold and cutting. "The Akuma surge is worsening. The Choir is moving openly. And you're
..."
"Busy," Mr. P cut her off, pointing vaguely at the screen without looking.
Callus leaned forward. "Busy doing what, exactly?"
Mr. P finally swiveled to face them, gesturing at the chaotic room.
"Why, busy saving your collective asses, obviously. Because none of you thought to check on the Cradle's feedback loops before tinkering with your cute little divine apocalypse schemes. Honestly, you're welcome."
Genna's flames flared hotter. "We don't have time for your jokes. Either you deliver results, or...."
Mr. P raised a finger.
"Or Shhhhhh... You'll light me on fire? You'll fry me to death? I've been working in this city longer than the ash on your coat has been warm, sweetheart. And last I checked, I'm the only one in the room who knows how any of this works."
Clone 18 muttered something about "mic drop" from the corner.
Mr. P ignored him and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed.
"You want faster? Fine. Bring me a second Cradle and a divine battery and maybe Naomi's original schematics. Oh, right. You can't. Because you burned all that when you built your little glass tower piece of shit without me."
Callus smirked faintly.
Envy hissed and stepped forward. "You arrogant..."
But Mr. P cut her off again, his voice dropping sharp enough to make even Genna hesitate.
"You want results? Tell me where my son is... and stop being bloody bastards infront of my face.
The room fell quiet for just a beat too long.
Then Genna spat on the floor and stormed out, Envy floating behind her like a stormcloud. Callus chuckled under his breath and followed last, glancing back at Mr. P.
"You really are impossible," he said.
Mr. P grinned faintly.
"Yes," he agreed. "And yet, irreplaceable."
When the door slammed shut, Mr. P swiveled back to the terminal.
The signal pulsed again, faint and steady.
His smile faded.
"You really are alive," he whispered again.
And clenched his fist so hard the screen creaked.
---
Rei in the Shadows
Far below the streets of Eden, Rei moved through the tunnels like smoke.
He listened.
Everywhere he went now, whispers about the Choir were growing louder... black sigils painted on back walls, coded songs humming through comms channels the Observers thought long dead.
And then, on one of his ghost receivers, he caught it.
A quiet, deliberate transmission.
The same black sigil. The same quiet Choir hum.
Rei froze.
Then whispered to himself:
"They're already here."
He glanced back toward the surface... toward Luther's faint golden lattice glow still visible on his HUD display, and toward Mr. P's lab in the far distance.
Then he opened his comm unit.
Typed out one short message.
And sent it to Mr. P.
...
Ashes at the Edge
Luther stood at the edge of Eden's wall, his coat whipping in the hot wind.
The wasteland beyond stretched black and endless, faint lightning dancing on the horizon.
Behind him, the city of glass and gold glimmered faintly... streets lined with quiet crowds, eyes still watching him.
Ahead of him, in the dark horizon, faint movement.
The swarm was already coming.
Black shapes crawling closer.
He didn't move.
Didn't even flinch.
But under his breath.. so quiet only the ash heard him... he muttered:
"I don't want to be your savior anymore."
The little innocent old boy , who was kind who was made with purity finally... lost the light he had.
...
Closing Beat: The Choir Rises
Somewhere beyond Eden, in a ruined cathedral swallowed by the ash, figures in black sigils stood in a circle.
Their faces were hidden.
Their voices rose together, like a thousand knives slicing through prayer:
"The savior is cracking. The knife is sharp. The board is set. Let the gods bleed."
At their center, one figure stepped forward.
A man in a mask.
The leader, the center of the chaos brewing.
Clone 3... and nobody knew. Except for one man.
And his laughter was quiet.
But it carried through the ash all the way to Eden.
And there in eden... Mr.P laughed watching it all brew
"Ahhh Zero."
...
END OF CHAPTER 15.5: ASHES IN THE STREETS