HE IS HERE! HE IS HERE!
THE LORD OF *****!
THE CHILD OF ***************!
Hundreds of voices blended into a ritualistic choir.
ALL HAIL RIVEL.
ALL HAIL RIVEL.
ALL HAIL RIVEL.
ALL HAIL RIVEL.
ALL HAIL RI——
---
That dream again. The young boy had had the same exact dream every night since he arrived in Bastion, and every single time he couldn't remember a thing.
The boy looked sleep deprived and rugged, yet somehow quite handsome and well built. his short wavy black hair just reaching his eyebrows.
His pitch-black eyes seemed hollow, somehow they didn't reflect a thing.
With a sigh, he got up from his "bed"—well, not really a bed, just cardboard and a blanket barely enough to keep warm at night.
He braced himself for that familiar pain he felt every time he woke up.
But it didn't come.
For some reason, ever since he could remember, he had felt out of place in this world—not just socially, but something much deeper that he couldn't explain.
But ever since he arrived here in Bastion, the dream realm, that otherworldly feeling had stopped.
He looked to his right and saw a familiar old man.
'Still feel out of place near other humans though.'
"Morning, Greg," the young boy said, his voice still hoarse.
Greg didn't reply. In fact, he gave him the cold shoulder without even glancing at him. The old man was currently too busy trying to look and act pitiful so people would drop a coin in his jar.
'Pathetic. Well, actually I can't say anything—I'm doing the same exact thing.'
Finally glancing at him, Greg loudly exclaimed:
"Look at this, boy! I got a song-domain coin!"
Even greg didnt bother to use his name, well the young boy couldnt blame him, not all people in his situation even had a name after all.
The young boy's eyes widened.
'Those things are rare!'
Greg happily got out of his makeshift bed, bringing his jar full of coins with him.
The young boy was a little jealous. Ever since he was a child, people had said that he creeped them out—something about his eyes felt non-human to them.
Thanks to that, his efforts to find employment here in Bastion were for naught.
He yawned.
'Weird. I feel really tired today.'
Something he didn't mention was that, thanks to his "creepiness," people had accused him of being a Skinwalker too many times to count.
That was when two intimidating men that wore sleek black suits, cut through the crowd and approached him.
Trying to hide his obvious irritation, the young boy put on a polite smile and used the most polite voice he could muster.
"Really? We've done this way too many times. Can't you just let me go?"
He was ignored.
With little resistance they cuffed the boy in cold metal as they dragged him along with them.
---
A few moments later, the young boy stood motionless in front of the familiar tall gates, waiting for them to open. When they finally did, a young Awakened girl, just barely older than him, stood in front of him—clearly overworked, considering the massive dark circles under her eyes.
"Hello. My name is Awakened Belle. My aspect allows me to peek into someone's soul to see corruption. Due to yesterday's incident, procedures have changed. Follow me."
'That's better than what I had to do the previous five times I came here. At least it'll be quick.'
He followed Awakened Belle into a well-secured room, reinforced with the carapace of some unknown abomination. He was then strapped onto a bed with metal cuffs that supposedly suppressed essence.
Not that he would know whether that was true or not. He was entirely mundane, after all.
---
It had been about ten minutes since the examiner started to use her aspect.
And with each passing minute, her face grew more and more twisted.
But the boy didn't care too much—once again, he felt really, really sleepy.
'Weird. Even though I just woke up… maybe it's the Nightmare Spell? But that's impossible. I'm under the protection of Nephis, the Sovereign of Humanity. As long as I'm in her domain, I should be alright even if I contract it. So how—'
"Impossible…" Belle whispered.
His thoughts were rudely interrupted as her eyes widened in terror and cold sweat ran down her face.
"CODE BLACK!" she shouted, dashing away from him and summoning her memories.
Instantly, loud alarms and bright red lights filled the room.
The other Awakened in the room started to unleash their memories, while the mundanes pulled out their guns.
"Call for Saint Athena now!" Belle ordered.
If she had been trying to remain calm, she wasn't doing a very good job.
The rest of the people in the room weren't faring well either—the mundanes looked petrified, while even the Awakened showed clear terror on their faces.
The young boy, confused by the situation, turned his head to the examiner.
"Umm… can someone explain to me what's going on?"
The examiner looked at the young boy with contempt in her eyes, pointing her really cool-looking pointy sword at him.
"Stop pretending, monster. We know what you are."
The young boy looked around the room as if he was trying to find who she was talking to.
"Me? A monster?"
'Even if I am a homeless beggar and look a little rugged, there was no way they'd mistake me for a monster. Right?'
The examiner's eyes narrowed, still glaring into the seemingly lifeless eyes of the young boy.
"You can't fool me, Skinwalker. I can see the vileness of your soul."
Huh? They think I'm the Skinwalker?
BANG.
The door—made from a corrupted creature's hide—folded in half as Saint Athena herself entered the room.
She looked around the room before her eyes landed on the examiner.
"So, where is the Skinwalker?"
The examiner suddenly looked much brighter as her shoulders slightly relaxed.
"Right there, ma'am. On the bed."
Effie blinked once.
"What, the kid? He doesn't seem like the Skinwalker."
The young boy, still perplexed by the situation, turned his head to Effie.
"Uh… yeah, I'm completely mundane, so I don't really understand what's going on here."
He looked completely unfazed. Some might have thought he had ice in his veins, but really it was just that damned sleepiness—he was too tired to care.
"Ma'am, I checked his soul, and the corruption in it was deep and large. He must be the Skinwalker."
Effie started moving closer to the young boy and began to examine him.
"Interesting. Are you sure he isn't just a carrier of the Nightmare Spell?"
The examiner almost instantly responded.
"Yes, ma'am. His corruption is way vaster, deeper, and more ancient than any Nightmare Spell victim could have."
Effie narrowed her eyes at the boy.
"Who are you?"
The air in the room, which was already tense beforehand, seemed to grow exponentially after that question.
The boy fiddled with his metal cuffs.
'How the hell am I supposed to answer that question?'
He could feel the glare of all the people in the room.
'They're staring holes at me!'
After a moment of thinking, he broke the silence.
"My name is Rivel."