Sundays

Apocalypse

By Hachi Mitsu

10.01.00

People are only who they are.

And lost in the depth of every mind,

Is a soul withering to death.

Leaving only a hallow body.

Left to live life, the way we were taught to.

Prologue

            He stood there in the soft drizzling of the rain.

The wind flew fiercely. It was cold. But that didn't seem to matter at the moment. All he could see was the stone battlement below, the ground, littered with fallen bodies. Hundreds of people, women, men and children crying up, towards the balcony where he stood.

Calling for help.

            But then the advancing spears of the bloodthirsty army caught them by the chest, by the throat, tearing them apart.

            One by one, they fell, staining the stone ground. He could see it even from up here. But... that was all he could do. Just watch as his people, his army, his comrades fall helplessly in heaps.

            Was this the end? Has the four horsemen finally come riding into his kingdom, here to fulfill the promise they've made to his ancestors so long ago?

            He watched, as the last men lay slain on the wet ground. He watched, as a leader of the aggressive army look up, towards where he stood.

            He has to leave now. To go down and meet his fate. And when he dies, so will the world. They shall perish with him, to end to civilization that was never meant to have begun.

            Slowly, he stepped towards the rough marble stairs, which led to the blood fest below. To where they waited to fest upon his flesh and blood, his soul. There was no way out of it. All his subjects were dead already, only his priestess remained alive.

            "Master! You mustn't go! They'll destroy you!"

            Indeed he was their master, and the ruler of all, but at the moment, he seems as if nothing more than a boy. One who had watched his world bled away before him. One that no longer wished to live.

            But he still smiled to the young priestess, an ironically rare occurrence. "Duet, I'm sorry. I have failed my purpose." His dark wind blown hair contrasted sharply against his deathly pair skin. "I have failed you."

            Slowly he turned, once more heading towards the stairs.

            "NO!" Duet sobbed as she rushed to stop him. He was surprised, no more than surprised. Never in his life has he ever seen the sullen girl lose her self-control and air of confidence. Reaching before him, the sobbing Duet fell upon her knees, throwing back the long shimmering folds of the black silk, which made up her attire. Taking a deep breath, she continued in a more controlled voice. "It was I who failed! Please, as it states in the Book, our Master can be saved from the foul beasts below if replaced by those who are closest to him, his priest and tenders. Please, let me take your place in Death. Mines alone deaths will satisfy them for now and you may be reborn into greater power!"

            With that, she muttered a few phrases as she sliced his wrist with his dagger. Tearing a strip of silk from her robe, he soaked it with the red substance and tied it around the other's arm. "Please, Master. Soon a likeness of death shall take you over, but fear not, for you will be reborn into a later time! And there you will gain the power you need to defeat your enemy! But for now, let my blood assuage their death-wish of you!"

            Before his master could recover from his stunned condition, the black clad priestess pushed him away from the stairs.

            "Duet! STOP this!" He yelled as he struggled to his feet, but already, he could feel a cold wisp stretch from the silk around his arm, it wrapped itself around his body and soul, tugging at his very consciousness. "Don't do this!!"

            But the she was already gone. Painfully, the boy pulled himself up, looking over the balcony as Duet paused from her graceful descent. The silky brown hair, which was pined in loops to either side of her head, outlined her fear-stricken face. But for a moment the terrified look in her eyes was replaced with a loving warmth, a glow of righteousness.

            "Goodbye, my Master." She mouthed before continuing down the stairs.

            He slid slowly to the cold ground, his face pressed against the stone bars of the railing. He could barely make out the figures of his priestess... no... she was much more than that. Duet were his friend and comrade... or rather... was...

            Duet... forgive me...

Chapter 1

            Heero startle awoke. A bit dazed he glanced around him, the room was how he had left it and before him was the papers he was writing for his history class, something about prophets and wars.

            "Yo, Heero! Y'll right?" Duo glanced from where he sat by the window. "It's not like you to fall asleep while studying, much less wake up looking like you've just seen a ghost!"

            Heero shook his head. Something happened, but he couldn't remember. He glanced at the picture in the textbook. It portrayed a group of kids being led to an alter... to be sacrificed? It didn't say. But for a moment, he could almost see part of a figure that stood at the head of the group. Head held high, framed by two loops of dark hair, falling over black silky robes.

            But then, it faded away to nothing more than just a vague human outline.

            "Have you ever had the feeling that you... were someone else? Living in another place?"

            Duo gave him a weird look, but then smiled a bit. "Yeah. I know what you mean. But ya know what? I believe that we're all here for a reason. We all have a destiny." The boy shrugged. "Why knows! But the thing is, we have to be grateful for our conditions right now. It can be a lot worse!"

            A sudden vision of blood flooded Heero's vision, but then he shook it away.

            "Hai, you're right..."

            With a small smile, he returned to his papers.

            There was nothing to worry about... was there?

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AN: AHHHH!!! I can't believe I wrote this!! O.o;;

I've decided not to continue this cause it's just soooo yucky I can't stand it -_-;;

HOWEVER!!!!! I am writing an original story title "Interlude" that rewrites this story into an, well, original story which is MUCH MUCH better than this one, AND I will continue to write it until it is done =D