Seraph of Requiem

Seconds then minutes ticks by on the clock. I wonder when time will guide us to our inevitable death and whether are there other worlds that have the same concept of an ending. sigh, What sins have I done to deserve such eternal torment? All I can do now is wait for death itself to arrive and harbor the living souls to the afterlife.

The first few words I heard were faint, then it soon got louder. In the end, I woke up in shock.

"Katsumi? Katsumi! Wake up, stop sleeping in the middle of class,"

"Oh? yes, sir?"

"Now, could you please read page 57 on the English textbook and stop sleeping again in class."

As I read the text, time passed on, and soon it was already lunch. Afterward, I thought to myself what that dream was about. I hope that doesn't happen to me or anyone else. Anyways, I do not want to think too hard about that, I'm happy it's lunch. Now I can eat my favorite bento with Yuki and Senzou.

I looked behind me and I didn't see Yuki anywhere. Now I'm worried about where he went to, usually, he doesn't like leaving his desk. I hope he doesn't get involved with some delinquents yesterday and now he has to deal with them.

*Door creaks open*

"Ah, there you are Yuki. I've been searching for you, why are you on the school's roof anyways?"

"Katsumi...I have a few questions to ask you. Firstly, what will you do if we are all gone? And if you were alone what would you do?" Yuki asked, dubious but eager nonetheless.

"Hmm, the first thing I would think to myself is why was everyone gone? And I would be sad if my friends and family were gone too because I care too much for you guys and I could never fathom such a thing to happen so quickly."

"Katsumi, do you think Senzou is a better friend than I am?"

"What are you talking about Yuki? Of course not, you are both equally great friends to me."

Still, I get to be with Yuki for this cleaning session. I can't imagine how bored I would be without her. Without much thought, I quickly hugged him as I said that. Inside me, I feel as if something I said was wrong and unfulfilling, but in the end, all I could think about is his soft and kind comforting nature. The sweet scent of perfume makes it all the better for me, it surely calmed my thoughts.

[Yuki's POV]

I patted her on the head. Her soft silky white hair is rather soothing to the touch, I think I could do this all day. But of course, good things will come to an end.

"Alright, I think we should go for our lunch now, I don't want my bento to get cold," Katsumi said eagerly

Without a second to think, she pulled me by her hands. As I saw her bright and beautiful smile, everything felt much better. As if the darkness was washed away by her pure and bright soul.

[Katsumi's POV]

School is finally over, time sure flies quickly if you don't realize it. Sadly I have to clean up the class, but at least I have Yuki by my side. Mostly because I cherish him and I have feelings towards him.

"Hey Yuki, can you help me with lifting these tables, as you can tell I am not as strong as you"

"Alright, let me do the heavy lifting. After I finish we can wipe the floor clean."

After we finished, we headed home together, because his house was along the same path as mine. In the end, it surely was a fun day, I enjoyed it. I hope something interesting will happen again tomorrow. I hopped onto my bed and slept in a deep slumber.

*Fire crackling in the distant*

Hot air fanned my face and sparks pricked gently on my skin as I saw a shadowy figure from miles away. Looking closer, it seemed that the wind had engulfed the figure, taking it away from my line of sight. Suddenly, my attention was drawn towards the blaze as it multiplied in size, creating a spiral of flames twisting around the once-shadowy figure, as it emerged as a person.

I looked at it from a distance away, quite surprised at what I'm seeing, and yet I felt something sharp struck my heart. It's as if something haunting happened right before my eyes, even though it's just a dream. In the end, I ended up closing my eyes to hopefully end this pain in me.

*Audible alarm clock ringing at a distance*

*Alarm clock starts blaring*

"Hmm, eh?"

I turned off my alarm clock, in a few mins later I stood up and stretched

"yawn"

"That was a weird dream, and yet I can't remember anything from it" as she spoke softly to herself. "Hmm? Although I don't remember, I can faintly remember the feeling that's resonating inside of me, odd..."

"Katsumi! Breakfast is ready, you better eat quickly before you're late for school."

"Okay mom, I'm coming"

I washed my face, combed my hair, wore my school uniform, and I went to head for breakfast.

While I was eating my breakfast I had a thought that came up in my mind.

"Mom, what happened between you and Dad?"

"Well dear, I can't answer that. Now, would you like me to put in more rice for you?"

She looked extremely sad when I said that, I wondered what had happened between them. Well, no time to waste, I do not wish to dishearten her, so I'll try my best to make her happy.

"Yes please, and sorry to ask you that out of nowhere."

"It's fine dear, we get curious sometimes because we are human after all."

*7 mins later*

"Thanks for the breakfast mom, you sure make the best breakfast. I'm off for school now."

"Take care Katsumi and be safe now."

"I sure will mom, have a nice day"

"You too"

I walked outside of the house and greeted the neighbors as I walked down the streets as usual. Oddly enough, I don't see Yuki anywhere. Usually, he would be standing by the roadside I walked to. But instead of seeing Yuki, I saw an unfamiliar alley. It was dark even though the sun is out and no building is making such a dark shadow. I've lived and passed through this road many times, so I could tell if something was out of the ordinary and this surely was one of them.

As I approached it I heard a faint voice calling out to me, with each step the voice got louder.

"Hey, kid. I know this is sudden, but can you trust me?"

"How can I trust someone that I don't know and I can't even see you"

"All I can say is, I know you. Your name is Katsumi and the reason why I'm asking for your help is that I can tell you felt something resonating within you. It may not just be a dream, Katsumi. I too felt the resonation."

"Whatever you're saying seems too good to be true. Fine I'll do whatever you say, lead the way"

"Now, I know it seems weird but I am not capable of meeting you in person at the moment, so I am only able to speak to you through your head. Anyway, go near the end of the alley soon everything you perceive will change in a matter of seconds"

"If you say so"

I am still quite skeptical about this but as I keep going through this alley, the more I feel at ease. As I reached the end of the alley, everything did start to change. This place looks like a massive cavern with dripstones all over the ceiling of this cave and wet puddles all over the ground.

"Now, as you reach further down the cavern, you will see a bright white light. Follow it and it will show you the truth"

I followed his order and went to the bright light, as I got closer I felt the resonation getting stronger by the second. In the end, all I saw was a broken mirror, some parts were cracked and the other parts were in ruins. I tried to fix it because I felt like I was supposed to, but surprisingly it didn't take long due to it being relatively small.

Once the mirror was fixed, I saw an image of myself, different yet similar. Seems that I saw myself with short hair and bright blue eyes and for a split second I saw it with yellow. It seems that I am expressionless in the mirror and that small blue flame in my chest.

"Is that my soul?" as she spoke silently to herself

Out of nowhere, a black mist approached her. After the mist dissipates, there seems to be a gate. It opened but it showed nothing but empty darkness, like an abyss with no end.

Without hesitation, I went in there to see what was on the other side.

Nothing. It felt... empty, as expected. No light, no sense of heat nor cold, and all I could hear was my voice in my head. There was nowhere to stop, so I drifted away aimlessly. Floating in the darkness of this realm seems terrifying at first, but I got the hang of it rather quickly. Right after I closed my eyes I heard the old man's voice.

"Hey, Katsumi. While you're here in the realm of nothingness or in short "The realm", as you could tell you are feeling absolutely nothing. Don't worry, your senses still work just fine. Now it may seem like seconds to you have passed, but I can assure you that in this realm, you have been here for 1 month already. Everything you are sensing seems slow and your brain can't perceive how fast time has moved. If a month has passed for you in this realm it may equate to a few hours in real-time."

"So what will I do now? Am I just stuck in here with your voice in my head?"

"Actually... I'm right next to you. Our spatial awareness is none existent at the moment, so I may sound further away from you and if you have been learning your physics lately, sound can not travel without a medium, so yes I am talking to you telepathically, but only towards you though."

"So, how about my other question. You kind of missed it."

"Ah, sorry. I tend to forget things easily. Maybe it's because I've been here for so long. Anyways, continuing with your question. I have a task for you to do. I will give you all the remaining power I have stored up for eons. I shall entrust you with this power and fix the mirror. Here's the original mirror, the one you saw was a replica, I'll explain it later once the time has come."

"Uhm, so what is this power you speak of?"

"I can't fully explain it to you, but the sole purpose of this power is to gain the knowledge of the world you go to. I know it will be confusing and tough at first, but I believe you are capable of this. That is all I can say for now."

"So how do I get out of here?"

"As I give you my power and the shattered mirror, you shall be transported to another world."

"Alright then. Oh, before I go, can I ask one last question?"

"Sure."

"If you have the power to get out of this realm, why don't you do it yourself?"

"..."

"It's alright if you don't want to speak about it."

"Uhm... I've created the rift that leads to the outside world, go on in there and find a man named Ragnar the Grey."

"Alright then, hope we can meet again old man."

As I stepped outside the portal, the feeling of a cold breeze passed by. The green lush plants that are surrounding me smell amazing, they all feel so soft and comforting as I touch them. As I was touching the plant, I realized that my hands are covered by a gauntlet and some parts of my body are covered in what seemed to be steel armor.

They're deep red in color and how I only could imagine what seems to be dragon scales that cover the top part of my hand. It's quite dangerous since each fingertip is pointy, but luckily I can pull back each segment to make a layer on top of each other.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Do not release that gauntlet at any cost, until I tell you to do so."

Without thinking too much about it, I took off on my new journey. I am still wondering if I made the right choice or not. I might have regretted this decision.

"How can I see my friends again? I never properly said goodbye to them." in a sad low voice

"Soon, Katsumi. Soon. I shall assure you of that." he said reassuringly

I smiled with a feeling of hope inside.