The morning sun rose from beneath the mountains, chasing away the darkness that crept into every corner.
Its bright, energetic rays shone on Cole's tired face. He squinted his eyes on impulse and rolled to cover his eyes. It was then he remembered he was still in the park.
As the thought flashed through his mind, Cole shot up. Luckily, no one else had entered the park yet, though the possibility that he was seen and ignored was highly existent.
Cole decided to stroll around for a bit to clear his head.
The previous day's events still played in his thoughts like a scary nightmare, except it was real. The sound of grass crunching beneath his feet brought him a bit of satisfaction.
After several minutes of meandering, Cole arrived at his favorite bench and sat down.
Leaning his back slightly forward, he rubbed his temples, wearing an ugly expression on his face.
"So what now?" He asked himself.
'I could just buy weapons, but what's the guarantee he doesn't have the dealers under his thumb? If they see me, he'll know I'm alive,' he introspected.
'I could try using a middleman to get the weapons, however, I don't have anyone I can trust, especially after what Salone did. If I use someone random, there's no guarantee it won't backfire in some way,' Cole crossed his fingers.
'I'll have to be extremely careful about this.'
He leaned back, relaxing his spine and neck region. If anything, he needed a bath.
While Cole relaxed, the girl's offer repeated in his mind.
'I don't believe in that bs,' he assured himself.
Ten minutes passed, and the citizens had begun to fill the place like swarms of insects. It made sense, as the day was Saturday, after all.
Cole became more cautious, getting up from the bench and going deeper into the park to hide himself.
As he went deeper, he couldn't help but notice the air was unnaturally dense or rather thick.
Something felt like it crawled or danced on his skin, an external feeling he couldn't describe.
Going deeper became more tedious as he took more steps. The eerie setup of large dead trees and green bushes didn't calm his nerves in the least.
'I've been to this park multiple times, yet I've never seen this part before. Am I hallucinating again?'
Cole slapped himself twice just to confirm, the pain was real, and his cheeks still stung. So it wasn't all a dream; this was reality, and he was definitely still awake.
'I don't believe in the occult! I don't believe in the occult! I don't believe in the occult!' He chanted repetitively.
An unsettling whisper brushed his face along with the cold breeze.
All the signs were enough; the time had come for him to head back. Strangely enough, as he turned behind, the path he came from had completely vanished.
Instead, a grayish atmosphere of a forest nearly covered by white smoke took its place.
'What the hell!' Cole panicked, his eyes darting in search of an exit as sweat ran down his face.
His reaction was justified; anyone in his place would have reacted the same.
Cole only had one option: to keep walking forward. He gritted his teeth and tightened his fists as he steeled himself. Letting out a heavy sigh, he followed the trail forward.
The deeper he went, the more mysterious and ominous the forest became, not to mention the white smoke became thicker and more choking.
Cole covered his face with a scarf and kept walking.
In the end, he arrived at a large cliff, with a vast empty space full of nothing beneath it.
Cole's eyes shook in their sockets at the view, his teeth chattering as his clothes became drenched in sweat.
"This is a dead end? What even is this place?" He blurted out weakly.
"This is my home or my realm, whichever you wish to call it," a firm, confident voice echoed throughout the space.
Cole was at a loss of where it came from, even then he had a brief idea of what was going on.
"Let me guess, I can't see you because I'm not on your level, right?" He asked, his tone reluctant yet stern.
"Correct, it means one of the other deities must have made contact. But by the looks of it, you didn't accept the offer," it remarked, its interest piqued in a way.
"Yeah, you wouldn't happen to want to make me the same offer, right?"
'Deities? Is that what I'm dealing with?'
"Not really, I want the exact opposite..." It paused in an unsettling manner.
"I want you dead."
'What?' Cole exclaimed.
"Are you being serious? What did I ever do to you?" He asked, his tone littered with a mix of frustration and uncertainty.
"Not to me personally, but to us... yikes, you're in some deep problems. I'm sure this is heavy, but I just thought I'd tell you..." Its voice grew more threatening as it spoke.
"Your days are numbered. Trying to resist is only delaying the inevitable. Just give up and jump off the cliff; that's the kindest thing I can offer you," it concluded.
"Take that kindness and swallow it down your throat. Bring all the threats you want, but it won't work! My whole life, I've been coping with danger; this is nothing!" Cole yelled in a confident burst, though his appearance betrayed his act.
'This human is really underestimating the gravity of his situation...' It thought. 'Very well, then.'
"All the suffering and misery you experience from today will be a result of your careless decision-making. You will regret this day, even more, you'll wish you had accepted my kind offer."
As it finished, the entire forest and the abyss disappeared like a figment of coles imagination. The environment and atmosphere returned to normal, and the loud laughter of children once again filled the air.
Cole fell to his knees, his body shivering beneath the warm sun. He clenched his head tightly, nearly dragging his hair out his scalp.
"What did I get myself into? Dealing with humans is one thing, but deities? Guns and bombs won't work; I'm so screwed," he sobbed bitterly.
A stray thought then pierced his head.
"Help me!"
His call was responded by a howling breeze and dead silence. Passersby assumed he was crazy and avoided him.
"Someone call the mental hospital!" Someone suggested from the background.
The park slowly became diluted with chattering and murmurs.
Cole dashed through the gathering crowd and out of the park.
"Stop him, don't let him escape!"
"He's too unstable to be running around in the city."
Some spoke, and the others agreed.
Meanwhile, Cole ran down the street, his speed almost inhuman. He stopped by a small bakery, tidied himself up as best he could, and then entered.
'I have to blend in as much as possible.'
Cole casually walked into the shop like the average customer, picked a table, and read the brochure. After scanning through its many options, he chose the steamed buns and curry.
The smell of warm bread, tea, and the air conditioning that cooled him down were a momentary delight.
His order was served by a waiter with dark strands of hair tied in a neat ponytail, green swirly eyes, and smooth facial features, or so he could make out since they wore a face mask.
"Here you go, sir, your order," the waiter spoke politely as he served.
'Oh, it's a man.'
"Thank you," Cole replied.
The waiter grabbed a chair and sat close to Cole. "So, are you an indulger?"
"Indulger? What do you mean, if I may ask?" Cole inquired, his expression hanging between suspicion and curiosity.
"I'm on the clock right now," the waiter stood, turning towards the kitchen's direction. "Give me 6 hours, and we'll discuss everything, okay?"
Cole became even more bewildered. "Yeah, sure, I'll come back by then," he replied with caution.
"Good bye, then," the waiter rushed towards the kitchen.
'I can't believe I met a fellow indulger! I wonder what faction he's from!' the waiter was overcome with glee.
"An 'indulger'? Is that from some sort of novel or animanga? Or could it be... a piece of the world I unwillingly became involved in?" Cole pondered out loud.
"Either way, I should take this time to consider my next steps. If I'm dealing with the supernatural, then normal weapons won't cut it," he theorized. "I'll have to do some more research, and quickly at that."
Cole took a nice bite of his buns, finished the curry, paid his fee, and left.
He turned back to the bakery and uttered, "I'll be back in six hours."
'Hopefully.'
Cole noticed an odd occurrence as he walked down the road. Several of the cars that passed were heading in the same direction, or rather, he was the only person going further into an abandoned area.
Normally, people would fill every corner of the city during the daytime, not today, though. Fewer and fewer people were present the deeper he went.
Cole decided to turn back, as his gaze turned towards the opposite direction.
He saw a weird figure, with abnormally long strands of hair spanning from its head as it inclined poorly to the left. By that time, the area was drowned in a horrific silence.
Buildings were vacant, cars were non-existent aside from the dark shadings covering half the floors, and whatever thing he was starting at.
"He... Hello? Can I help you with something?"
"....."
Its silence made Cole intensify his defenses and ready for an attack.
"I'll ask you one more time, what do you want..." His voice hardened.
The figure's lips parted, it stretched a vague smile that extended all the way to its spine, revealing a set of sharp, chainsaw-like teeth.
Cole's eyes widened exponentially. "Indeed, I'm screwed."