Part 1 - “Living Corpse”

2022

THE “GLOBAL SOUL EVENT” TOOK PLACE.

BELIEVED TO BE THE ACT OF THE “SOUL DEITY”, A DIVINE ENTITY; A SELECTION OF INDIVIDUALS AWAKENED THEIR SOULS AND SOUL-RELATED ABILITIES OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.

THOSE WHO CAN PERCEIVE AND UTILIZE THEIR SOULS ARE CALLED “SOULFULS”

SOULFULS BEGAN TO FORM FACTIONS AROUND COMMON BELIEFS.

HUMANITY WAS IRREVERSIBLY MODIFIED.

1 - Lonesome Soulscape

“Despite it only being a dream, it was the purest, most vivid image of a perfectly content life I’ve ever seen.”

“Money, power, fame, all of that paled in comparison to the dream that presented me the true apex of human emotion. What I considered true happiness was something that someone like me would never achieve in their life.”

“A bond of mutual trust.”

“Laughing to my heart’s content with my best friend, or spending time with my loving partner. Entrusting them with myself and my future, and protecting their dreams. Shaping the world into a place that accepts us and allows us to flourish.”

“The human connections I had rejected, the happiness birthed from what I convinced myself was worthless...”

“It was the only thing that could save me.”

...

[2024]

[BEEP]

[BEEP]

[BEEP]

“Ah, shit...”

Sakuto slowly turned around in bed, muttering to himself words of great displeasure targeting his phone’s alarm. After initially missing it a few times, he finally managed to swipe his finger in the right direction and stop the irritatingly repetitive sound. He rubbed his face, and opened his slightly red and sleep-deprived eyes.

“Man...why do I have to wake up this early...”

“I think I had some kind of dream too...damn, the more I try, the less I can remember anything about it...”

Slightly disappointed, he put down his phone and sat up on his bed. Pale beams of sunlight slowly pierced their way into his room, signifying the forthcoming of a new day. After a few awkward stretches, he spread his legs a little and pressed on his crotch with his hand.

“Not now, buddy. I did it twice yesterday at night, so it’s better to take a break...”

Sakuto lived alone in his apartment. For a 17 year old student, it was mostly normal to live either with the family, or in the school’s own dormitories. Sakuto, however, enjoyed his bittersweet freedom in his very own place. The apartment itself, located on the second floor of a small apartment complex in a rather modest part of Harajuku, Tokyo, was his own isolated paradise. He had no neighbors beneath him, and the family that lived next to him had moved out a year prior.

Inside his room, there was his old bed, next to his desk which had a computer setup. The rest of the apartment was, to word it nicely, improvised. Since Sakuto was an exceptionally average cook, he mostly ate store-bought items, and therefore cared very little about the quality or even functionality of his cooking utensils. His most consistent source of daily disappointments was his refrigerator. Most importantly, there was an eerie cold that devoured the place.

“Oh wow, nothing...” Sakuto sighed, opening it and being blessed with its emptiness. “Do I starve this morning? I could make a sprint to the store, but then again...yeah, I can’t be bothered to.”

Pouring himself some water, he continued his daily schedule of bad eating habits. He headed to his small bathroom and washed his face. The red tint of poor sleep soon faded away, better revealing Sakuto’s gray and somewhat empty eyes to the rest of the world. Running his wet hands through his dark and grayish hair, he gazed at himself in the mirror which was illuminated by the blindingly bright bathroom lights.

“What day is it...? Wednesday, right?” Sakuto sighed, thinking to himself. “The schedule isn’t too horrific today. I can pull through.”

He put on his school clothing, which was a black uniform with a white shirt beneath and a dark red tie. After wearing it for years on end, he had grown both disgusted by it and attached to it at the same time. He swore to burn them once he was done with school. Fixing up his attire, he took a final look at himself in the mirror before leaving. The glass reflected a painfully average student, who, while looking somewhat attractive, had the appearance of a restless empty shell. He reached for the pale silver door handle, right before turning around and giving an empty glare to his apartment.

“Goodbye, dad...”

“Why am I even saying this?”

Somewhat disappointed, he yawned one last time before leaving.

“It’s the same garbage every day...wake up early, head to school and rot my brain there, head back home and waste my life jerking off or binge reading manga.” Sakuto spoke to himself, walking along the freshly awoken street. Fragrant smells from the nearby food spots that had just opened up danced with the gentle morning breeze. The people passing by all had seemingly indifferent faces, most of them locked onto their phones. A classy shade of azure enchanted the cloudless sky. Birds were chirping in the distance and the automobile noises suppressed their songs. The morning seemed to appease everyone caught in its domain with the exception of...

“I stayed up too late yesterday. I can already feel the headache...” He thought, rubbing his eyes. “Every fucking day is the same, it feels like I’m living through a century and a minute at the same time.”

“Hey!” A louder voice exclaimed from behind him. Sakuto felt a tap on his shoulder, which seemed to have been rather unpleasant. Seems like in his sleepwalking state, Sakuto hadn’t even realized that he had already reached his school - a large multiple story complex that proudly waved its flags by the entrance gates. It appeared intimidating from the outside, but the locals knew it was one of the more welcoming and student-friendly establishments around. Sakuto was quite lucky when it came to convenience - his house was close, so he usually never had to take the crowded morning trains.

“I hoped he wouldn’t be here...”

“Sakuto!” The voice exclaimed once again, now starting to walk alongside him.

“Oh, hey, Aki...” Sakuto replied, appearing already tired from this interaction. “How’ve you been?”

“I’m fine-oh! Hey!” The brown-haired boy replied, waving at a group of students in the distance. “Sakuto, let’s go. We got some free time anyway.” He told Sakuto.

“Get yourself a better attention span, you bum.” Sakuto thought, before slowly and hesitantly following his friend.

“Oi, Arai! I see everyone’s here, huh...how are y’all?!” Aki enthusiastically asked, while Sakuto slowly nodded hello.

“We’re fine. I mean, shit, everyone’s hyped because of the whole academy news. You heard about it right?” Arai replied, as the teens behind him quickly lowered their voices.

“You mean the soulful academy project? What, do you hope to become a soulful too?” Aki jokingly asked. Sakuto pretended to laugh at the joke.

“Who wouldn’t want to be one? There’s some crazy money involved in that business. And you get all the fame in the world!” The boy standing next to Arai replied. “You guys want a smoke?”

“In front of everyone? You’ve gone mad, dude.” Aki said. “At least do it in the bathroom.”

“Who cares anyways?” Arai replied, taking a vape pen out of his pocket. “I can always bail myself out even if I do get caught.”

“You’re gonna apply to the soulful academy?” Aki asked.

“When it’s open, yeah. For sure.” Arai said. “The money involved in that business is crazy. And you’ll get to meet all sorts of famous people.”

“Then we can apply together. I’m honestly thinking we would all make for some great soulfuls.” Aki said. “Especially Sakuto.” he said, pinching the latter’s shoulder.

“He’d be the strongest.” Arai chuckled. Sakuto gave a disappointed smile to the joke that carried absolutely monumental comedic value, so much, in fact, that had it not been for the fundamental forces of the universe Sakuto would collapse into a higher-dimensional entity and fade into nothingness. He wanted to slap the latter for the remark but remembered that social norms existed, and that he, in fact, was forced to take them into consideration.

“Maybe I am one already.” Sakuto said, trying to humor the jokes.

“Come on now.” Aki said after a long silent stare at his friend. “Don’t be silly.” He tapped on Sakuto’s shoulder, before signaling to the rest of the group. “You guys want a coffee or something?”

“Oh fuck off.” Sakuto thought. “Aki, isn’t class starting already?”

“Dude, relax. You won’t be late for class.” Aki chuckled. “I know you’re yearning for education but it’s all good.”

The school’s yard was brimming with life. Small clusters of friend groups were scattered all over like constellations in the perfect night sky. Distant sounds of busy conversation, upset remarks and explosive laughter consumed the place. It was a perfectly average day in an average highschool, and such days were what Sakuto detested the most. Outside, it was warm, maybe a bit too warm. Warm enough to make Sakuto uncomfortable at least, as his headache and now small shiver were ramping up.

“We can get some coffee I guess.” Arai sighed. “I can ask my dad to deliver some. He got a new car yesterday so it’ll be easy.”

“Oh really?” Aki said, almost jumping up with excitement. “What model is it? My dad’s got-”

“You really had to mention cars, didn’t you? You just wanted to flex on us.” Sakuto sighed, disheartened. “And Aki bought right into it. Now you’ll spend the next few minutes discussing who has shinier tires on their wheeled coffin. Aki’s a decent guy, he just loves people too much.”

Amidst the distant blabbering, Sakuto took his time to once again do anything but appreciate his surroundings. His pale hands shivered a little, and he felt an odd feeling in his chest.

“Sakuto, you want to smoke?” Arai said, offering him a cigarette.

“Nah, I’m good.” Sakuto coldly replied.

“Arai, you know Hori, right? From class B. What type of girl is she?” Aki asked, snatching the pen from his hand. He quickly inhaled it, as the gross and fruity smell of the smoke broke free.

“Hori? You mean the girl with the fat ass? What, you tryna tap that?” Arai laughed it off.

“Yeah, her. I heard she has a brother up in the IT industry and he’s rich too. She’s basically a perfect pick.” Aki replied.

“Yeah, I can imagine. I’d love to spend a night with her, honestly.” Arai sighed, before turning to face Sakuto. The latter seemed surprised to finally be treated as a member of the conversation. “Sakuto, are you into anyone?”

“No, not really-”

“Heh, you’re asking that?” Aki laughed. Sakuto pretended to laugh, but beneath that there was a face of pure disgust.

“You should go for that one curvy girl that’s next to you in painting class.” Arai chuckled. “She seems like fine material. Sakuto, why don’t you talk to her?”

“Cause I’m not interested.” Sakuto coldly replied, already revealing his irritation.

“And are they interested in you?” Aki sighed. “Man, why not just talk to her anyways?”

“Why would I talk to someone who I’m not interested in?”

“He really doesn’t get it, does it?” Aki commented, before the bunch laughed it off and continued. “Sakuto, you’ll get it one day.”

“Get what exactly?”

He was close to them, but felt as if there was a great distance between them. And he didn’t want them to come closer to him, no matter what. He felt cold and in his mind was a type of hostility. Zoned out, he felt the surroundings become more and more blurry, and the sounds he heard began to slowly overwhelm him.

“I don’t understand it. I don’t understand what goes through your rotted brains, or what makes you feel that everyone else is supposed to be like you...you never think, you just act. You’re...you’re like...you’re not even humans, you bunch are like bags of meat with instructions imbued in them.”

“I’d put my right hand on my heart and say it with full honesty, I wish you’d all just shut the fuck up and never have the privilege of speaking ever again.”

“The truth is, I fucking hate your kind.”

“Ugh...my headache is killing me...”

“I might just-”

“Huh?”

Sakuto sharply jumped up from his seat, raising his head. His vision was slightly blurry, as he quickly looked at the black and white clock atop the classroom’s blackboard. Quite a bit of time had passed since he was last awake. He regained his composure, and it seemed like his strange nap was ignored by everyone else. The teacher was busy talking rambling about mathematics, and the students were chatting with him about his life. Sakuto rubbed his eyes a little.

“I fell asleep pretty badly...don’t even remember how I got here.”

“And there’s this weird pressure that I feel.”

He looked around the classroom while trying to think of what caused his altered mental state, and noticed a face that was notorious for being miserable and probably deserving of it.

“Dear God...what did they do to this guy?”

Two rows in front and one column to the right was Ryosuke, a short, rather slim kid with long black hair. He had far worse wounds on his face than usually, there was a piece of bloody cotton shoved up his right nostril. Small blue marks were on his neck and arms.

Ryosuke was a victim of circumstance. For every hilarious joke that was made about him, there was yet another nerve that was close to snapping in Ryosuke’s mind. But the classmates, in their eyes at least, had a valid reason to torment someone who’s apparently a sick-minded freak. Sakuto tried to fix his posture and got his books out before already feeling the effects of sleep deprivation...and fever.

“Oi, creep!” One of the teens sitting next to Ryosuke said, turning to face his prey. “How hard did you get your ass beat today?”

Ryosuke looked back at him with pure disgust and anger in his eyes. Tears were already slowly forming in them, but he tried to hold back. He muttered in response.

“Shut up!”

“How dare you talk back to me?!” The guy said, kicking Ryosuke’s chair. A few other people in class turned to gaze at the unfolding spectacle.

“Quiet there!” The teacher exclaimed, before continuing whatever middle aged teachers with a friendly attitude do during class. At least he wasn’t talking about politics yet.

“I expected to go insane one day, but here?” Sakuto thought, gripping his head with his hands. “Just don’t draw anyone’s attention, Sakuto. You’ll be good.”

“Hey, is the whole stalking story really that bad? I heard he also groped Ai today...” One of the girls in class asked her classmate. The gossip was slowly gaining momentum.

“Yeah, it’s probably true.” The classmate replied, pointing her finger at Ryosuke. “Ai was getting terrorized by this creep on social media as well! He tried to follow her on 20 different accounts!”

“That’s not what happened!” Ryosuke yelled, trying to control himself.

“Hey, fuckface, did I tell you to never talk to my girlfriend ever again?” The student in front of Ryosuke said, turning around and spitting on his desk. He grabbed Ryosuke by his half-torn uniform, and pushed him back. “Keep your mouth shut and know your place.”

“Defending this guy would mean social suicide...” Sakuto sighed. He asked himself why that was the case, but the static in his ears and the strange pressure masked his thoughts.

“I feel like throwing up...”

Ryosuke turned around to the sight of the students around him whipping out their phones and recording him. His parents had once already seen a video of him getting bullied. They reported the incident to the school, however, the resulting expulsion of one of the popular students had only made the situation worse for him. At the same time, a few banging noises were heard outside. Ryosuke hid his face as hard as he could, but the overwhelming presence of so many cameras was essentially impossible to be safe from.

“I might record another short video off of this.” One of the boys said, before kicking Ryosuke’s chair. “I’ll put some ads on it and make money. Hey, Ryosuke, say something to the camera!”

“Just go live instead!” The classmate exclaimed, quickly doing something on her phone. She pointed the camera at Ryosuke once more. “Everyone! Take a look at justice being served!”

Ryosuke’s hands were shaking as he reached for his bag. After it rumbled around, Ryosuke gripped exactly what he was looking for. In a moment, a loud screech escaped his scarred mouth.

“What’s he doing?!” The guy in front of her said, dying from laughter. “Channeling 200% of his loser powers? He looks like...he...” He couldn’t finish the sentence properly, the laughter got the best of him. For a few moments, the laughter that infected almost the entire classroom consumed everyone’s attention. Only a pair of empty gray eyes could instantly recognize the object Ryosuke took out of his backpack.

“A...knife?!”

The laughter was rudely interrupted by a cold piece of sharpened iron being shoved into his classmate’s throat. Followed by an even louder, even more primordial scream, Ryosuke’s stabbing wasn’t limited to just one of his tormenters. He swung his knife towards the desks next to him at the now very terrified students who were seeking jokes and laughs. Outside, the banging noises were getting louder and accompanied by sounds of glass breaking.

Some of the students sitting in the front instantly ran away, screaming as hard as they could. The guys in the class instantly tried to neutralize Ryosuke, but failed to do so, likely due to fear and Ryosuke’s surprisingly effective bloodlust. Already three of them were stabbed in their throats or stomachs. Sakuto stood up and tried to approach him, feeling the instinctive urge to do so. At the same time...

“I can’t...”

He held his right eye with his palm, gritting his teeth. His breath was out of control.

“I just wanna... lay down...”

The teacher was involved too now, although he couldn’t do much. The boys in class who were more athletic managed to hold Ryosuke for a few moments, but the latter was still swinging his kitchen knife around like a madman. His physical weakness was compensated by the sharpness of the knife.

“I knew I asked for life to be interesting, but...by this much? Sakuto thought, before unexpectedly looking at the ceiling.

“The source of the pressure! It’s-”

[CRASH]

Breaking through the ceiling, what looked like a female body plummeted down into the classroom. The pieces of concrete beneath her body all fell down on Ryosuke at high speeds, rendering him and the peers around him unconscious. The girl stood back up, and quickly grabbed what looked to be a sharp kunai blade.

From the hole in the ceiling another figure emerged, this time, it was a man who looked to be in his 20s. He looked like he was in excruciating anger. He quickly swung his hand as piles of broken concrete threw themselves at her. The girl tried to deflect most of them, but some pieces ended up connecting to their target. She crouched and struck the floor with her blade, and a blast of ice glaciers formed to both protect her and knock the enemy away. Sakuto was left in awe, but at least it distracted him from his own predicament.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“What the hell? What are soulfuls doing here?!” Sakuto thought, trying to slip away and leave the classroom. The man jumped up onto the top floor again, and the broken bits of stone next to him started to form themselves into spikes. In the brief period of preparation, Sakuto ran off and escaped.

The girl looked rather intimidated by the upcoming attack and chose to flee as well. The spikes were tossed at her at high speeds, some of them managing to pierce her leg and back. As she, along with everyone else, felt the floor tremble beneath her, she tried her hardest to run away. Sakuto, who was running at full speed, was quickly humbled by her superhuman sprinting speed.

“Soulfuls...are this much stronger than anyone else...dammit...I gotta run...” Sakuto thought, as he caught his breath while turning the corner. Behind him, yet another superbly fast runner was giving chase.

“ATTENTION!!!” He yelled out, pushing Sakuto out of his way and grabbing the attention of all the other students in the hallway. “BY THE ORDER OF THE ELEMENTAL GROUP, CAPTURE THE TERRORIST IMMEDIATELY!!!”

“I couldn’t make it out the first time I saw the guy, but it’s Hwang from the Elemental Group...”

The man in question was known to be not only one of the more popular members of the group, but also one of its stronger ones. He had dark brown eyes, and a buzz cut that projected a thin layer of black on his scalp.

Sakuto sprinted around the corner, as he heard more and more rumbling noises around him. Pieces of concrete were flung around like tennis balls, and spikes were emerging from the ground. The school itself was crumbling as a result of the two battling demons. Hwang’s voice was still roaring through the building, inviting all students to participate in the hunt. Apparently, the culprit was wounded...

He stopped to catch his breath, seemingly unable to move. His zoned out state was interrupted by a loud sound of debris falling next to him. The man that could seemingly reshape the ground was walking on the floor above, with no regard as to what collateral damage was caused.

“If I don’t hide and treat my headache, I’ll just die...” Sakuto grunted, trying his hardest to run. “Why...am I this desperate to survive anyways?”

“I’ll hide somewhere...I’ll rest here until I’m able to run again...”

At last, even for just a moment, the battle calmed down. Sakuto rushed towards one of the storage units in the school. To his surprise, the room that he tried to use as a temporary hiding spot had its old iron door somewhat open. He slowly opened it, only to see the terrorist herself.

She sharply shifted her gaze, distracted from her profusely bleeding wounds. Her beautiful emerald eyes were exposed by the room’s dim lighting. The black hair and bangs she had greatly contrasted her pale skin, and the splatters of blood that covered her wounds indicated the intensity of the combat she was a part of. She wore a black sports uniform, parts of it covered in blood and dust.

Sakuto froze in fear and uncertainty, his own deteriorating health ripping him apart from the inside. The girl seemed taken aback. For a soulful that had usually no regard for the soulless, she sensed something that prevented her from instantly killing him.

“You...you’re...the culprit?” Sakuto slowly asked. He found himself to be brave enough to take a step forward. She didn’t respond.

“Why is he hunting you down?” Sakuto asked, approaching her a little more.

“Why does it matter?” The girl coldly replied.

“It kinda does.” Sakuto said. He flinched after hearing a sudden and loud sound of destruction emerging from further away on the school’s top floors. “Did you do anything horrible?”

“Who are you?” she asked. “Did Hayk send you here?”

“D-dunno who that is...” Sakuto tried to take another step forward, but stumbled and fell on his knees, tightly holding onto the right side of his head.

“Hey...what’s wrong with you?” she asked, concerned. She crouched down and approached him, placing her hand on his shoulder. Sakuto noticed a pretty bad wound on it.

“Look at your own wrongs first.” Sakuto said, pointing at it. “You need to get it patched up before you lose blood or get an infection.” He hastily ripped out a piece of his pants and used to bandage them up. The girl seemed rather surprised at his gestures, her eyes wide open.

“Thanks...” she said. She wiped the small marks of blood on her face, standing up. A loud crashing sound was heard outside.

“Now tell me why the elemental group is trying to kill you.” Sakuto asked, trying to stand up. His legs felt weak and a bit wobbly.

“I refused to join them.” the girl said. “Feel free to mock me all you want about it.”

“Why would I?” Sakuto asked. “You had your reasons, right? Gotta live life however you want to-”

Sakuto coughed, the headache intensifying even more and forcing him to bow a little in pain again.

“Look who's talking. I should live by what I want first before telling strangers about it.”

“You don’t know what kind of mess you’re involving yourself in.” She said, walking towards the exit.

“You’re going to try fighting him?!” Sakuto called out, as she tried to walk away from him. He reached for her shoulder with his hand, but it was swiftly brushed away.

“What else am I supposed to do?” The girl asked. “Someone will come up here eventually.”

“It’s a remote part of the school. No one will check here for a while, and when the shitshow calms down, you can try fleeing.” Sakuto replied, before heading to the entrance. He climbed the flight of stairs, as the girl followed him. “If you wanna leave now, I can try finding a good route for you.”

“That’s not how it works.” The girl said. “Soulfuls can sniff out the presence of other soulfuls.”

“Then let’s hurry up. If he’s gonna find you anyways, might as well make a run for it.”

“You...”

“Huh?” Sakuto stopped, looking a little confused.

“Why are you trying to help me out in the first place?” The girl asked. The wounds on her body started to slowly fade away.

“I don’t know.” Sakuto replied. “It just feels like the right thing to do.” He said, before losing his balance for a few moments and almost stumbling over.

The iron door that Sakuto made sure was sealed shut was opened wide, revealing a somewhat slim male student. His expression seemed shocked, as he slowly opened his mouth and said with a slightly trembling voice.

“Y-you?! Wh-you...you captured her! Why didn’t you call for backup immediately? Here, just wait, I’ll do it instead!” He said, stuttering heavily.

“This is Akira. He’s a mutual friend from Arai’s circle, and it seems like he recognizes me. Wait, he forgot my name, didn’t he?” Sakuto thought, as he stood idle in front of his acquaintance.

“He’s gonna turn her in now, right...”

“I can’t do anything about it.”

“I can’t...”

“...”

Sakuto was frozen amidst the standoff. A hurricane of reflection broke his mind apart. The concerned gaze of the so-called terrorist and the enraged and confused glare of the person in front of him. The two clashed against one another in Sakuto’s own void iris.

“I wouldn’t have done this normally. I would’ve just played it safe and moved on with my life. So why did I choose to help her out?”

“It’s because of those eyes, isn’t it?”

“I've only seen her for only a few moments, but her expression, the depth in her eyes...”

“There’s something in them that I can relate to.”

Sakuto came up to Akira and grabbed him by his uniform. As the latter was about to scream, the confusion forced him to remain silent and completely taken by surprise. He grabbed Sakuto’s own uniform and tried to force him to let go.

“What the hell...are you doing?!” Akira exclaimed. He tried to look to the side and yell, but was promptly stopped.

“Aki, Arai...and this guy that I’m holding down...they’re all different. It’s impossible to find understanding among them.”

“Then again, they’re my friends, aren’t they? I’m supposed to have that bond with them.”

Sakuto used his strength to pull Akira closer and headbutt him. His friend, shocked, tried to escape Sakuto’s grasp, but was overwhelmed by the latter’s unnatural strength.

“Who am I to find more depth in this girl and not in my friends? Why shouldn’t I trust them with my true intentions or feelings?”

“The truth is...”

“They were never of any help.”

Sakuto repositioned his arm and delivered a sharp elbow strike to Akira’s chin. Confused and stunned, Akira wobbled back. He caught his breath and tried to call for help, while at the same time starting to raise his own hands to strike back.

“All this time...be it with small habits, or with decisions, or even with things like Ryosuke...I could do things to stay true to the life beliefs I admired, but didn’t.”

“But I’m sick of this shit.”

“So this time, I’ll do something.”

A devastating right hook from Sakuto outsped Akira’s desperate punches and knocked him out. Watching as the student’s limp body fell down, Sakuto turned around. He smiled.

“Hey, the headache is gone...”

A second later, he fell on the floor, completely unconscious. The girl rushed over to him, worried that he might never wake up again. Though, soon, her caring intentions would be challenged. A thunderous sound was heard outside, as she felt the presence of her enemy rapidly approach her. She glanced at the open exit which revealed to her the potential path of escape.

“Should I just run?”

She looked over at Sakuto’s body again.

“No.”

“I can’t just leave him here.”

She grabbed Sakuto. Placing his arm around her neck, she carried him out of the room and into the hallway. The floor began to slowly get covered in a thin layer of ice, and she skated on it, traversing the hallways, finally finding the one that led her to the building’s exit.

“I’ll get outside. I’ll get to Hayk as fast as I can. He won’t be able to catch up to me, not a chance.”

“And I’ll figure out what’s up with this guy. I thought he was sent as assistance or as a hunter...”

But just as she was about to escape, she felt a soul presence grow noticeably higher behind her. Hwang collapsed the roof, landing right behind the escaping soulful. He clasped his hands together.

“Soul Interpretation.”

“Earth Piercer!”

Large chunks of the ground were lifted up and reshaped into sharp spikes. They spun with great velocity like drills and their target was the culprit herself. As Hwang clapped, the projectiles launched themselves at the girl. She outmaneuvered and avoided most of them, but one of them hit her pretty bad in her left leg.

Hwang rapidly closed the distance and grabbed her by her clothes. Sakuto’s body fell on the ground. He tossed her aside, further from the exit, and chased her down. She tried to dodge his hurricane of strikes and kicks, but her injured leg and overall weakened state shut that initiative down. She was getting beaten up pretty badly, but the moment Hwang stepped back to charge up a powerful haymaker, she saw an opening.

She quickly conjured and launched an icicle into his stomach. It didn’t pierce Hwang clean, but it stunned him for just long enough to allow her to strike the floor with her kunai.

“Ice Blast!!!”

A large quantity of ice rapidly expanded from the ground, knocking Hwang up and away, pushing him strongly enough to get him to hit his head on the ceiling and fall down.

“I know it’s a bad thing, but I have no other option.”

She stood back up. The piercing injury on her leg was stuffed with shards of ice. She rushed at Hwang and attempted to cut him with her kunai while he was still down, but Hwang anticipated that.

He swiftly countered, grabbing her by her arm and throwing her into the wall. He pinned her to the wall using pieces of the ground and approached her.

“Should’ve taken the offer back then.” Hwang said, punching her in the face with all his strength. The girl still tried to resist. “Not too late.”

“Fuck...off...” She said, spitting some blood out.

“Then I’ll just kill you.” Hwang exclaimed. He landed a few more similar punches, the girl’s face looked bruised and almost broken. Her injuries finally got the best of her, she wasn’t strong enough to fight back. Hwang pulled back a little to hit one last haymaker, strong enough to knock her out completely.

As the girl watched her fate close in to her, she also noticed a second figure approach them.

“Huh?” Hwang said, sharply turning around. “What’s another soulful doing here?!”

Sakuto swung his fist and landed a clean right hook right on Hwang’s chin. The latter was knocked back, and took a stance to handle the new threat as fast as possible. Sakuto, in return, kicked him in the groin.

“I managed to remember that dream...”

“And I don’t want to let go of it.”

“Because I can finally see something colorful.”

“Run!” Sakuto told the girl, following it up with a haymaker once again targeting Hwang’s chin. Hwang still couldn’t recover from the excruciating pain between his legs. He swung his fists in rage, while Sakuto kept dodging and weaving and trying his best to keep the distance.

“I got him to focus on me.”

“To think I’d do something as stupid as this...challenging a soulful to let someone else escape...whatever. I need to focus now.”

“I know that he’s stronger than me, and that he has an ability.”

Hwang rushed at him, but instead of dodging, Sakuto went towards him. He dodged the initial strike and shot for a takedown!

“But I’ve practiced martial arts for as long as I can remember.”

“Where I lack in strength, I’m superior in technique!”

Sakuto, somehow, managed to complete the takedown and successfully change levels. He passed Hwang’s guard and mounted him, and even he was confused as to how in the world he managed to do that. He landed a powerful elbow strike, following it up with viscous hammer fists and hooks to his face. Hwang maybe wasn’t getting his skull destroyed, but it hurt. And it made him furious.

“Who the fuck even are you?!” He yelled. He struck Sakuto and knocked him off of his body. As he tried to stand up, he felt a sharp pain in his back. The girl shoved her kunai right into his body.

“Seriously?”

“A two-on-one?!”

Hwang turned around and swung his fist, but the girl was already gone. Instead, while he was distracted, Sakuto made an appearance - jumping on his back from behind and starting to choke him out.

“I can’t do anything to him. I hurt him pretty badly, but I don’t have enough power to do anything decisive.”

“But she can.”

“All I need is to create an opening.”

He started to choke Hwang with all his strength. At the same time, the girl was attacking him with her blade, trying to land a decisive piercing strike to finish the job. Hwang was on limited time, he had to do something about the choke. He tried to fall on his back and slam Sakuto on the ground, but Sakuto, catching onto the intention, quickly let go and weaved to the side.

Hwang rushed in again and grabbed Sakuto, but failed to notice the setup. His attempt to take Sakuto down would be punished. Sakuto quickly wrapped his right arm around Hwang’s neck. As he stuffed the takedown, he also started to choke Hwang.

“God damn it, so fucking annoying!” Hwang yelled. He pushed forward, slamming Sakuto against the wall. It caught Sakuto off guard and forced him to release the choke, granting Hwang the opportunity to deliver a killing blow, but the girl was there to save the day. She flared up her soul presence on purpose, distracting Hwang and allowing Sakuto to dodge and escape.

“Really...she juked me out?”

“They’re running around like rats, attacking and fleeing all the time...and this guy is obsessed with trying to grapple with me.”

The three soulfuls entered a standoff.

“Who is he gonna prioritize?” Sakuto asked himself. “Will he go for me, or will he go for her to complete his main objective?!”

“Get out.” The girl told Sakuto. “You have to escape.”

“How about you?” Sakuto asked. He heard a rumbling sound from behind him. He saw walls made out of the ground emerge around him, essentially sealing the three soulfuls inside.

“I’ll figure something out.” She yelled. “Watch out!”

“Ice Blast!!!”

This blast of ice served the purpose of not damaging Hwang, but destroying and escaping the grasp. The moment the blast took place, the remnants of the walls were converted into spikes that shot themselves at the now gone targets. The girl was knocked further into the building, while Sakuto was launched out of the building, landing far away, back first on concrete.

“Ugh...” He rubbed his head.

“What the fuck...was I even thinking?”

“Somehow, I’m still alive.”

“Going toe to toe with a soulful, and him out of all people...I know I thought I’d given up on living, but I didn’t think I’d actively try and get myself killed.”

He slowly stood up, rubbing his face and taking a deep breath.

“Good luck, wherever you are...” Sakuto said. “And whoever you are.”

“I fucked my life up completely, didn’t I?”

...

“Reports state that outside of a school stabbing, in which multiple students were confirmed wounded and one was found dead, the No.2 Elemental-Sponsored Tokyo High School was also caught in the crossfire in a battle between Hwang Kang-min - a member of the Elemental Group, and an identified soulful. The soulfuls’ battle has greatly devastated the school, resulting in extreme damage to the school property as well as dozens of injuries and three confirmed deaths among the students. Authorities are currently investigating the incident in an attempt to prosecute all those responsible.”

Such was the unwavering requiem of the street speakers, relaying the breakthrough reportage regarding the catastrophe. A few hours had already passed, and Sakuto was wandering alone in the streets of Harajuku. The sky was cloudy, similar to Sakuto’s own mindscape. Unexplainable emotions signifying confusion, anger, loss of direction, all dancing by the symphony of emptiness. He was overthinking about every single detail regarding the incident, but most importantly, how he was supposed to deal with the aftermath.

“Right...”

“I went from just a teen who is a failure by definition, to a potential felon who decided to stand up to an Elemental Group member. The bunch that are portrayed as the heroes of the world...yeah, I fought one of them. But it doesn’t matter that I lost.”

“I’ll just go to being hated by every single living organism on Earth now. Those guys are the center of the whole world’s attention.”

“Even before all of this, I’d already doubted anyone even cared about me. For the amoeba that I have to call my ‘friends’, I’m likely just a way to pass time and lead distractive conversations. I’ll be in deep shit once that guy rats me out...”

“Man...”

“Can’t even talk to Oskar about any of this. He’s been offline for the past few weeks...”

He walked towards his apartment. The streets were either filled with rushing crowds, or were completely empty. He was the only one who walked in a small, almost monochromatic way. Kicking and dribbling pebbles with his feet and keeping his hands deep in his pockets, his sleepless and emotionless eyes had great difficulty truly converting the extent of his feelings.

“Oh..it’s her.”

“S-Sakuto?!” An older lady exclaimed from a distance, rushing over to him. “Hey, are...are you alright?”

“Ah, yeah, I’m alright. Well, as alright as I can be.” Sakuto replied. Almost instantly, his gloomy face was replaced with a more “natural” one.

“My goodness...were you in the class when it all happened?” The lady asked, putting her hands on his shoulders.

“Yeah. The stabbing happened right in front of me, and the same goes for the soulfuls fighting. It was...I’m...I’m sorry...” Sakuto said, as tears started to slowly stream down his face.

“Aw, I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this at all.” The lady said, patting him on the shoulder. Her movements were a bit shaky, her old age was really getting to her. She hugged Sakuto’s arm, and left after patting him in the back.

“Sakuto, I’m just...glad you made it safe. Please stay safe.” She said, turning away and walking off. Sakuto stood in place, before wiping away his tears. Almost instantly, his original face returned.

“She’s a nice lady. She lives on the apartament block across, and I helped her quite a bit when she was moving in or carrying groceries.”

“And I had to lie to her by pretending to cry to seem human. In reality, I’m glad that stabbing happened, I wish there were even more casualties...”

“Good job, Sakuto. I hope you’re really proud of yourself.”

Sakuto went up the staircase, approaching his apartment’s entrance.

“Honestly, grabbing a rope and a chair seems like the best course of action.” Sakuto sighed as he thought about that. Despite his pessimistic mindscape at the moment, he subtly smiled.

“At least that soulful girl...she can live to see another day. Maybe I’m not that worthless after all.”

“...”

“Huh?”

Sakuto looked surprised as he noticed that the door was slightly open.

“Did I forget to lock the door?”

He slowly entered, after sensing some movements from inside his residence. Even more than that, he could sense a person being there. He masked his footsteps well, and noticed that the presence was in his...bathroom?

“Ah, like this...” a female voice said from there. “It’s so warm, it feels so nice...”

“A person? No, a girl?! Have I actually lost it?!?!” Sakuto thought in panic, grabbing a knife from near his sink. He took a deep breath, and walked towards the room. “Don’t panic. I have some pills in the cabinet. I’ll take some sleeping pills and knock myself out. I am not schizophrenic.”

“I am not schizophrenic.”

“One more time, I am not schizophrenic”

At last, he finally kicked the bathroom door open.

“Who the he- ooh...OH WHAT THE HELL?!”

“Huh? Who are you?!” The female voice replied, as its host body was submerged in a hot bath. It was the very same girl who Sakuto had helped. “Wait...it’s...WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!”

“I live here!” Sakuto yelled. “Why are you in my house?! Also, put some clothes on!” He yelled as he turned around.

“Out of all the fucking people in the world...”

“I don’t have anywhere to stay, alright? I was on the run and I just saw this place had its door unlocked!”

“Is that what you do? You just...go from one place to another?” Sakuto yelled out. “Are you homeless?!”

“Sometimes...” the girl replied in a sadder voice, clearly embarrassed. She calmed down a little, and quickly put her clothes on. She left the bathroom, passing alongside Sakuto. The latter even felt a little bad, perhaps his choice of words was a little rough.

“Hey, back then...why were you getting chased down?” Sakuto asked, watching the girl slowly prepare to leave.

“I thought I’d answered you already.” She coldly sighed.

“Well, does this happen all the time?” He asked again, slightly irritated but also interested. “Do you always have someone trying to kill you?”

“Most of the time.” She replied, before deciding to take another moment of rest and sit down on Sakuto’s couch. There was still blood leaking out of her leg wound. The pain assured her to stay.

“You’re...basically a rebel.” Sakuto sighed, heading to his fridge.

“Yeah, I’m rejecting the Elemental Group. Feel free to mock me all you want.”

“Mock you? I thought I’d responded to that already. I think it’s kinda cool, actually.” Sakuto said, preparing a glass of cold tap water and bringing it to her. “You’re rejecting what you’re forced to be, and instead doing what you actually want.”

“Really?” she said, hiding a small smile with her hands. A brief pause later she asked. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“I’m Sakuto. Sakuto Hitori.”

“And I’m Ichika...Ichika Hanasaki. Nice to meet you, I guess.” She giggled to herself, and smiled at Sakuto. “Thanks for saving me, dude.”

“Those words of gratitude...” Sakuto thought.

“I played it off cool, but if she put some more kindness into them, I would’ve gotten caught off guard real bad.”

“I managed to get him off my tail.” Ichika said. “You put up one hell of a fight too. I didn’t know there were other soulfuls in the area.”

“Yeah, I was surprised. For someone who was supposed to- wait, what did you say?”

“Sakuto, you’re a soulful.” Ichika doubled down. “You have soul prowess running through your body and helping you out too.”

“I...I really doubt that, maybe I just have good physical skills. You know, I do know how to fight and I work out a-”

“Who do you think knows better what soul prowess is?” Ichika said sarcastically.. “Maybe you’re just not fully awakened yet.”

“I...I don’t even know at this point. Too much happening in one day.” Sakuto sighed.

“Right...” Ichika sighed. Both of them soon had their attention captured by the TV, where the news was constantly bombarding them with information regarding the awful school incident. For the next few weeks, classes were going to be conducted in an online format, and the students directly affected by the incident had free access to psychological assistance. Furthermore, it seemed like the Elemental Group was heavily invested in the incident.

“Oi, you got anywhere you’re gonna stay, Ichika?”

“Right now, I don’t.” She replied. “But I’m going to visit my mentor soon. I want him to take a good look at you, figure your situation out. So you should come with me.”

“Right...” Sakuto said in response, scratching his head.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into?”

“Well, I’d be wrong to say that I regret it.”

“For once in my life, things are getting interesting.”