A young man with pale skin and hair as black as a crow's feather sat on a high bar stool. The stool occasionally let out creaks that echoed through the dark, musty basement.
In front of the young man sat a beer can, half-drunk, and a cube—or rather, a toy. Ravel had stolen this toy from a toy store frequented by wealthy people.
"Damn it."
Frustrated at being unable to solve the toy, he tossed it away and took another sip from his can.
'In a bad mood?'
A voice echoed in Ravel's mind.
'Don't bother me this early, Aiden.'
Then, a moment later, a ball of transparent blue light appeared in front of Ravel. The light was such a sharp contrast to the once-dark environment that Ravel's eyes snapped shut the moment the entity appeared.
Ravel's previously bright blue eyes took on a gray and somber hue.
'Why don't you go for a walk, Aiden?'
Ravel said with his eyes closed because of the blinding light.
'Wow, that's the first time I've agreed with you; anywhere away from your bad mood is better.'
Saying this, Aiden moved and passed through the basement ceiling, away from Ravel's sight, who finally managed to open his eyes.
A palpable bitter taste, like someone who had just lost an argument, remained in Ravel's mouth.
"Shall we?"
Another voice echoed, but this time outside of Ravel's mind. He spun the stool around, letting out several creaks, and saw the figure before him.
Another young man, but with healthy white skin and wheat-blonde hair; he was dressed formally, as if heading to a luxury date.
"My God, you're not Mike! What is your name, sir?"
Ravel disguised his bad mood with a satire that ended up making Mike let out a giggle.
"You don't look so different yourself, Mr. Ravel."
Ravel gave a light punch to Mike's chest and stood up.
As soon as they opened the basement door, they stepped into a dark alley with sunbeams here and there providing faint illumination. The air of sewage and filth entered Ravel's nostrils, yet he took a pleasurable breath anyway. Anything was better than the dead-rat air of the basement—anything!
Soon, two handsome young men emerged from an alley and blended into the crowd. They looked very out of place in the neighborhood they were in and quickly picked up their pace.
They covered three blocks until they finally seemed to belong among the people on the street. The buildings that filled and surrounded the neighborhood were low, with a maximum of four stories, and almost all of them had sophisticated shops on their ground floors.
Ravel had just passed in front of a pastry shop, and a strong scent of sugar entered his nostrils, making his expression relax.
Mike leaned in slightly toward Ravel and whispered near his ear: "If Aiden isn't here, you'd better call him; we're almost there."
Ravel's previously relaxed expression turned somber at the reminder of what was coming. He called Aiden in his mind, who arrived a few seconds later, mocking that Ravel couldn't stay away from him for even a second.
Mike and Ravel stopped in front of a clothing store. They took off their top hats and entered the shop.
An attendant with a perfect haircut and expensive tailored clothes soon arrived to assist them.
Mike shifted his accent and manner of speaking to a slower, more sophisticated tone, making himself sound like the son of some businessman.
"Good morning, I would like to order two custom-made suits, for myself and my brother." Mike gestured with his eyes toward Ravel before returning his attention to the attendant.
"Of course, sir, this way, please." The attendant gestured toward a more private wing.
Ravel followed behind Mike while he couldn't help but think how the attendant would react if he knew that Mike and he were homeless, or nearly so.
'Aiden, it's your time.' Without needing to say anything else, the entity flew and passed through the ceiling of the shop toward the residential area of the building.
The attendant took a measuring tape and asked Mike to take off his clothes.
Mike stood in only his underwear while the attendant took his body measurements. But Ravel wasn't focused on that; he entered almost a trance-like state, as if ignoring his vision to focus on something beyond.
Ravel's vision began to blur, and a new one, in his subconscious, began to take its place. It was a vision with distorted color tones and, most importantly, it was a 360-degree view. Ravel had been training hard these last few months not to go mad when using Aiden's sight.
The environment soon changed and Mike vanished; in his place, an empty room appeared.
'Not this one, Aiden, next.'
Ravel felt as if he were moving and passed through a wall, coming face-to-face with a bathroom and a couple having an intimate moment.
'Looks like someone is having fun,' Aiden joked.
Ravel felt his cheeks flush and his body temperature rise.
'Not this one either, get out of there!'
Aiden passed through several apartments, encountering all kinds of things and people. Fortunately, Aiden was only visible to Ravel.
Ravel was already getting dizzy, and time must have been running out, when Aiden finally found it.
A painting of a woman in a dress on a balcony of a medieval castle with a sunset was hanging on a quartz wall. Just below, a kind of table with chic decorations on top and several drawers. However, one of them had a keyhole.
'Bingo!'
Aiden hurried and passed through the furniture toward the drawer.
Meanwhile, Mike was taking his last measurement while staring at Ravel, who was looking fixedly at him with hollow, unfocused eyes.
'Damn, if she touches Ravel in this state, the reaction will be terrible.' Mike already knew what happened, as he had already taken several unconscious punches from Ravel when he interrupted him before. It was like a defense mechanism of his body or, rather, survival muscle memory.
"Done, sir, I've taken all your measurements. Now only your brother's are left." Saying this, the attendant turned toward Ravel. But at that moment, Mike interrupted him.
"I have some questions about delivery times and customization."
The attendant seemed to turn back and began presenting various types of details, with add-ons that were worth more than a house. Mike almost widened his eyes unconsciously but managed to control himself and began discussing add-ons with the attendant.
A cluster of jewels sparkled inside the drawer. A mini lamp illuminated the jewels in the drawer, making Ravel fantasize about such a fortune.
But in the pile of jewels, one stood out from the rest. It was a human ear made purely of gold, with realistic details that mimicked even the curves of a real ear.
Aiden could read Ravel's thoughts and thought it best to ignore what he was fantasizing about.
'This is the last time I'm doing this,' Aiden grumbled.
'Fine, fine, just do it already.'
Aiden tried to roll his eyes, but he didn't have any.
'I recommend you get out of me... no, that sounded weird. Oh, damn it, just leave my sight!'
Mike had already accepted every possible add-on; his suit was now worth more than the entire fortune of his family tree!
He could see the attendant in slow motion turning toward Ravel, but at that moment, Ravel had already regained control of his body and stepped forward.
"Mike, we have to go, Father is waiting for us," Ravel said in a tone of urgency and then added, murmuring to himself:
"Damn it, how did I forget?"
Ravel pulled Mike by the arm to leave the store while Aiden screamed in pain in his mind.
They went to the alley behind the store, where Aiden had placed the ear.
Aiden was brutally corroded whenever he interfered with the material world, so Ravel made a mental note to thank his companion later.
Ravel knelt down to pick up the golden ear. But at that moment, the entire Earth trembled. The walls of the buildings surrounding the alley began to crack.
Screams could be heard coming from the street and buildings collapsing. The floor of the alley where they were began to crack and debris started falling near where they stood.
The tremor lasted a few seconds before stopping completely. The screams from the street began to cease, and the environment became silent again.
Mike helped Ravel, who had fallen during the tremor, to stand up.
"What the fuck was that, an earthquake?" Ravel asked, even knowing that Mike wouldn't know how to answer.
"I don't know, but it doesn't seem good," Mike replied as he picked up the golden ear and tucked it away.
He then stared into Ravel's eyes, which were a very faint blue color due to Aiden's state, who was now sleeping or resting to recover his spiritual energy.
Mike and Ravel hurried to leave the alley. Ravel couldn't help but feel restless, especially without his second pair of eyes.
"Is our house still standing?"
Mike couldn't help but let out a light laugh.
"Only you would call that basement a home."
Mike's laughter calmed Ravel's heart. Mike always managed to keep a great mood, regardless of the situation. He always raised Ravel's morale in the worst moments. I mean, isn't that what a friend should do?
Mike and Ravel reached the street, and all they saw was a crowd of men, women, and children. All looking in one direction: the sky.
Some children were pointing at the sky and asking their parents what was happening.
Ravel followed the direction of their gazes, and what he saw left him petrified.
The sky had visible flaws, like cracks or fissures, and they were getting larger, as if expanding and connecting. Like when you step on a frozen lake and various cracks form until it breaks.
Ravel felt a very bad premonition, but he was so shocked he couldn't move.
"Damn, this isn't good. Let's go, Ravel!"
Mike tried to pull Ravel, but he didn't move; he was completely in a trance, like when he used Aiden's vision.
The cracks covered the entire sky, and for a moment nothing happened.
Silence took over the place and everyone shared the same thought and dread: Don't break!
But what could mere humans do? In the next moment, the sky shattered like glass. And several black dots could be seen moving in the sky, one of them coming in the direction of the crowd where Mike and Ravel were.
The black dot was getting larger and larger, moving at a speed never seen by a human. When people finally snapped out of their petrified state, it was too late.
A bird with feathers sharp as blades and a human torso landed on top of the crowd, crushing several people into a meat paste.