It was mid night, around 2 am. The world outside was silent—no footsteps, no wind, not even the sounds of machines.
The kind of silence that feels too quiet, like the calm before something unnatural... Especially on places like Pegasus.
Then suddenly, two black eyes snapped open, in the dead of night... It was Aura.
As soon as he woke up, he checked the time, and then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was 2 am, training his mind and body to wake up for this exact moment was worth it.
'Alright, let's do this,' he said to himself as he closed his eyes before opening them again a few seconds later hut when he tried to stand up after that, his legs gave out.
He stumbled and crashed into the wall with a loud thud, holding onto his abdomen as his whole body felt like he'd just been hit by a truck.
"Ugh… damn," he muttered, holding his side. Everything hurt, he thought as he held onto a dusty old shelf to stop himself from falling, breathing hard.
"Especially these stitches," he said out aloud, 'Selling my kidney better be worth it.' he thought as he looked around.
The room around him was a mess. Old, dirty, and full of junk. Broken crates, trash, and who-knows-what scattered everywhere.
It smelled bad too, which was understandable as it's been years since it was last cleaned.
Basically, his room was like a forgotten storage room. Not a place anyone would want to live in, but it was all he had.
Shaking off the pain, Aura pushed himself up straight and limped toward the metal door. It creaked as he opened it, and a cold breeze hit his face from the hallway outside.
The hall wasn't much better but moden. The lights flickered on as he walked out of his room and took a deep breath looking at the rooms beside him.
Two room to be exact, one of Rin and other belongs to Lala, his little siblings and as he looked at them, he felt, a little guilty... For what he is about to do is going to have a big impact on his future, and thier too... For better or for worse.
That was to be seen, it's good that it's better but even if it's worse, Aura didn't care, he has already decided he is about to do what he is about to do it, and he gonna have no regret about it.
He took a deep breath, stepped out, and muttered to himself, "Alright… let's do this." saying so, he put everything else at the back of the mind and focused on the task on his hands and he walked towards the kitchen, taking a knife with his gloves covered hand.
And as he got a hold of that, his hands trembled, ever so lightly as he finally had a few double thought before he shakes his hands and looked towards his parents room.
With a deep breath, and a knife in his hands, he slowly walked towards the the door, as his heart breath increased so much so that he himself could hear that, his hand slowly unlocked the door and...
"So who do you was the killer,"
The words from Uncle John brought him out of his thoughts as he looked at the food in front of him and sighedbl before slowly, picking up the knife and fork, before looking at his reflection in the knife.
"Who knows," he said, looking at the knife in his hands, reminding him of a similar knife, in his own hands, both covered in blood, washed in it.
"He must be, a demon." He said looking at himself again in knife, somehow, he felt as if he is seeing himself smiling in blood covered face, with a menacing laugh echoing in the back of his mind, and a figure identical to him laughing behind his back.
"I am sure, he will be catched soon tho." He said, cleaning the knife in his hands, before finally started eating...
"It's good." the blood soaked Aura said, covered in blood head to toe, as he eat the food, sitting alone on the dining table in the dead of the night.
"I never thought food could taste this good," Aura said, as he forced a smile again towards Uncle John, making him realise that he has so forgotten to smile that he has to force it every time he smile.
"You are right," John said, looking at the food for a while before he looked ahead, mainly at the people from investigation department that have arrived here.
"Don't worry tho, the killer will soon be found, they won't let a killer roam freely on Pegasus, especially on middle levels." Uncle John said as Aura too sighed.
Of course he knows this, no commoner has escaped after doing a crime on Pegasus in the past 20 years, no only because of the insanely good police department but also because there is no where to run to.
Everyone here is trapped, with no way of leaving, except for those at the top level, which are pretty unknown due to how little is known about them.
As for those at middle and low levels? Things are not that good, while low level basically living a slums like life, where people are barely managing to pay end meets, to pay thier tax, people have to stay in cramped rooms and barely be able to put food on the table.
Many even failing to achieve that and Aura knows that if he fails to pay the monthly tax, he with his siblings might also be demoted to a lower level, fortunately he has enough money to pay the tax for all 3 of them for atleast 2 more months, excluding the food, electricity and water prices.
But after 2 months, they won't be able to maintain thier current life anymore and will be demoted for sure, that's why, Aura knows he has to act fast.
Not only does he have to earn money, but also escape the murder, either frame it on someone else or get a gold citizenship.
There are 3 citizenships on Pegasus, Bronze, Silver and Gold.
With all those in slums having Bronze citizenship and having no rights to enter middle levels even if they have enough money to till they get silver rank citizenship.
Gold however is different, not only does it gives the right to enter Top Levels, but also comes with special privileges, some of which can even save him from murder charges.
However, getting it isn't easy either, you have to born with it which is the probably the easiest way to get it, or make a contribution big enough to the whole human race which a few in the Pegasus had made in its 90 year long history.
Last and the most dangerous way to get it is by awakening, and it doesn't stop there as even after awakening, auxiliary gifts are mostly ignored and are just employed as Pegasus management group with silver citizenship.
Till they are too higher rank that is, but those with combat and support gifts can immediately be given gold citizenship, though not everyone get it which is weird.
However, Aura have no idea how these people are sorted as the process is done behind closed doors but for all he knows, it's the only way he can get the gold citizenship, and save himself.
Probably even live a better life, or so he hopes to...
"So, what are you planning on doing now?" John asked, as Aura finished with the last bite, before picking up the napkin from the table.
"Isn't it obvious?" He said, looking at his supposedly good uncle, through he was just yet another two faces bastard to him, "To attend the awakening ceremony." He said.
John, who heard his words, was about to say something else before he processed the words he heard as his eyes snapped wide.
"What?!" He said, knowing the dangers that come with awakening ceremony, with even possibility of death and, "DON'T YOU KNO-"
"Excuse me sir," suddenly, he heard, as a middle aged man walked towards them, "All the preprations are complete," he said, looking at Aura.
"Let's talk later, Uncle John." Aura said as he left his seat and walked towards the two graves as John signed a little and followed behind him.
Realising what's happening, the other too finally stopped eating, and walked towards Aura, to offer a word or two filled with thier condolences, albeit fake ones.
"They were remarkable people," a man said said, as he walked upto me. "Your father once helped me settle a nasty contract dispute. I never forgot that."
"Your mother was a great person," another women said walking upto me, "I still remember the day I met, it's shocking how things ended."
"Stay strong boy," a burly guy said patting my shoulder... Thier voices had pity, condolences, and compassion but it just made me more and more... cold.
After all, none of them came forward when we needed them, when I needed them. When I was at my weakest, no one, literally no one lend me a hand.
However, I still didn't say anything and just forced a smile and replied to them all before walking up and standing in front of the grave, the only one in the whole garden.
Aura didn't speak a word. He just stood there in silence, his eyes fixed on the twin graves as more people formed a semi-circle behind him.
Then came the sound of a microphone screeching slightly, and a voice rang out through the nearby speakers... It was time for his parents to leave Pegasus.
"Today, we gather not just to mourn the passing of two extraordinary souls, but to honor their legacy, the lives they touched, the kindness they shared, the family they raised."
"Arlen and Serah were beacons of strength, and their memory shall continue in the hearts of those who knew them. We may grieve today, but we do not despair, for love never truly dies."
Saying so, he speaker looked at Aura in the front as a guy walked upto Aura, giving him 2 roses.
"Thier firstborn, Aura, will now say his final goodbyes." He said, as he put down the mic, his work here is done as he slowly disappeared in the background while Aura just looked at the roses in his hand.
It was his duty to do this, just as the traditions dictates for the last 90 years but, he can't, no matter what, he can't bring himself to.
After all, he isn't thier son but thier killer right now and even though he has little to no regards for such traditon, he still wasn't able to bring himself to do this.
That's why, he looked looked at the flowers before his gaze shifted to his right as he looked towards Rin and Lala.
.
.
.
CLAP CLAP CLAP
With clapping all around, Rin and Lala walked towards the graves, to say the final good byes.
"A R L" Lala read slowly, as she stand in front of the grave of her father as she remembered the first time she learned to read those words.
"E N... ARLEN!! DADDY!!"
"Yes little beauty!! You really are smart! Just like your dad ahaha!"
"I... Can't..." Lala said, as tear started falling from her eyes, as she hold onto flower tightly, almost breaking it in half before she felt a hand on her head as she looked behind slowly.
It was thier brother, Aura, "Go on, you must do this." He said with a gentlest of voices and a smile... Clearly a forced one.
As she looked at him, Lala tried to see thier father in him, but even though, he looked like him, sound like him and smile like him... What she felt wasn't comfort but fear.
"Ye-yes!" She said as she forced herself to put the flower on the grave as clapping lasted for a few more seconds before coming to a stop.
"Its over," someone in the back said as Lala looked up, just like everyone else, the beautiful sky, the clouds, and the gentle sun and all that which was setting up a picture perfect view up there, all of it wasn't there anymore.
As in but an instant, all of it was replaced with a white ceiling, the never ending garden, the grassland they were standing on too, making everyone realise again that it was never a heaven like garden but just a big room of illusion.
All that remained were two graves, and a rectangle platform around both of them, below the ground level compared to normal.
Of course Lala knows what's going to happen to it now.
Her mum and dad, with thier graves will travel through the special infrastructure made for such occasion which leads directly out of the Pegasus.
To Earth... which used to homes of humans at one moment in time, until it was no longer a place where humans can thrive... As now, Earth is filled with what is knows as Null Monsters... The Monsters of Null World.