Nihility
Co-written by: Jade and Aniiston
Jade composes the even chapters.
Aniiston composes the odd chapters.
Chapter I
My Nihility
Point of View: Riku
Written by: Aniiston (1st chapter)
Keep on Moving…
Go…
Keep on running…
Run…
The clock doesn't stop for the discernible…
Nor does it stop for the noticeable…
Time is of the essence, and so is my life.
Move…
Hurry.
That is my fate.
To always run.
The world is dark; and the world is wicked. Throughout the endless souls that inhabit this lifeless city; this lifeless hell, not one moves; all apathetic in the eyes of the poignant. Yet no people of the inspiration live here, for they died years ago. When the heartless first came to be; when they made their first kill. The lovely, intoxicating first death of a soul whom had yet to truly experience the darkness...
The terminus of all extremity...
Do you know who I am? No, I suppose you don't, for not many people do. It is best you never know, for it seems the light constantly abhors my flesh, and the darkness gnaws upon my body and expressions, concealing me from any pedestrians or simple by-passers.
The darkness in the only light in this world, the world of Nihility. Lightness does not exist, nor does the golden angel known only as the sun. Its wings will never spread, never reach this pale, lifeless world, for it was trapped by the vines; by the chains of the dark long ago. The skies fill will clouds; dark, terrifying clouds. And when there are no clouds; there is simply night, for this world has no light...no happiness.
I come here often.
Ironic, yes, for I am not lifeless, yet I come here of my own will. My own free will. The darkness does not bother me, for I am nothing but dark with a heart of raven light. Raven light... This city has supplies, and with supplies comes people; real or not. And so I come here when I am in most dire need of medical aid, though most of what they have here are weapons.
Thousands of Weapons.
Though the people halt their voices, and some may say they are mute, their forte in all the land is the art of combat. Men and women alike fight for their meaningless lives; constantly trying to slaughter the Heartless, and sometimes one another. These people have hearts, dark hopeless hearts, though in reality—and this is the reality—all they are is food. Food for the black creatures known as the Heartless.
And that is where I come in, my friend. For food and medial aid, I kill Heartless; slaughter them; watch them die. It is truly the core of a terrible occupation, but in this world, the world of the nothing; the world of the dark, it is the only thing I have. The only thing that keeps me awake at night. Beside thoughts of them.
I don't live in this city; I can't live in this city. It slowly drains everything out of a person; consuming their thoughts and their hearts. And so I live in the small, deserted town that resides beside it, staying away from any person or thing that wonders through. Isolation has never bothered me; loneliness is something I'm known for.
My home is small and dark, residing at the top of a large building inhabited by almost no one, save a few invisible persons. I take no notice of them in anyway. It is as though we no longer seem to note one another in the least.
At the current moment, a shop has come into my view, the same shop I always attend. It was raven, with bars crossing over each and every window. If you don't have bar-less windows, you don't survive in this city. The lights that explain the purpose of this shop were flickering slightly, showing that electricity was scarce in this neon town. Ignoring it all, I walked inside, grabbing multiple items off shelves and boxes. The items were relatively normal: concealed water, beef jerky, dried vegetables; anything that wasn't moist, save the water.
The man at the counter will never speak to me; he will only nod, understanding who I am and what I mean to this Hell...this city. Moving across the shop, items in hand, I quickly snatched up multiple potions and ethers, turning towards the counter clerk and nodding my head. At once he turned away, opening numerous shelves and cabinets, frantically searching for an item I needed. He faced me.
An Elixir
.These are exceptionally rare in this city, despite the fact that all medical items are uncommon. This I pay for with the little money I have that I earn every so often. This place doesn't take 'Munny', but a type of currency known as 'Gil'. This money does not come in small gold and blue coins as Munny did, but it comes in 'bills' and 'gold and silver coins'. I prefer using this new money, rather than the past money.
Taking the Elixir, I thanked the man with a nod of my head and soon found myself gone, storing the items inside my cloak, which concealed my black attire. It's often cold here, exceedingly to be exact. Though it never snows, but it rains; rains so much. Actually, I'm quite lucky that it isn't raining right now, for rain brings out the Heartless. And it always rains.
The streets are bare, completely isolated in every direction, though I'd rather be alone than walk beside someone. It has been four years since I've spoken, and if it weren't for my frequent thoughts, I'm afraid I would have forgotten how. I came close once. A year after I arrived at the small town, I had gone into a depression; a depression of being alone. Despite my once serious attitude, I was still a social person and craved to be gregarious. Though I soon over came that.
Animals do live here; mostly street cats and wolfs that eat them. I have a cat that often keeps me company, but I hate cats. I hate animals. Though I do have to say, knowing something that can move and talk, or meow, is quite lifting to the heart and mind. Or what I have left of them, that is.
This city is large with many streets and tall skyscrapers that soar high in the clouds. It's rather easy to get lost, though I never travel from my usual route for fear of that truly happening. I have no one to come rescue me if I become lost.
But I don't need anyone.
After awhile of pure isolation, one starts to become dependent upon themselves, or independent. I need no one except for myself. I have done fine on my own. I have a weapon; two weapons. The short sword. It comes in very handy when killing the Heartless. But then again, the Heartless are easily prey. At least to me they are.
I don't use magic. I never found any use for it, and I never sought out training. My best friend knew magic as well as the art of the longsword, which is probably why I lost to him so many times. But I don't wish to speak of him at the moment.
The Entrance Gates of this city have begun to show themselves. Though they serve as the exit as well, they always look the same. Same old, tall, raven rusty bars that far exceed my height by a mile. They open automatically, which is rather nice. Walking though them, I began my way home. The place I stay only has three rooms. A bathroom and main room, as well as a small bedroom. Despite the messy atmosphere of this world, my place is relatively clean. Well, I don't have much stuff to get it dirty with.
There isn't much color here...just shades and neon lights too bright for the eyes to truly consider bliss. But with color brings memory. So no color is fine with me.
After walking for a short while, I came to my home, unlocking the bared glass door with my keys and pushing it open, standing upon a yard long elevator and allowing it to rise me through the twelve story building. Seconds later, it came to a stop and I leapt off, walking causally to my room. Opening the door, I dropped my cloak and immediately removed my shirt, throwing it to the ground as well.
I was tired and needed sleep, for last night I had kept my eyes open until the peek hours of the morning, slaying Heartless and receiving the small amount of money for it, as well as free access to items. People are cold here, but they still need their defense.
The cat that follows me is pure white, which slightly brings me nervousness. Nothing is pale here, save the skin of the inhabitants. But a pure white cat? It almost never happens. The cat jumped off the window ceiling and waltzed into my room as though it owned the place and curled up on my bed. I pushed it off.
"Get out of here, you stupid cat," I mumbled, using my voice for the first time in years. My throat was shaking, and voice gruff, but once I continued speaking, it cleared. And now I was uncommonly tired. Lying down upon my bed, the damn cat curling up beside me, I closed my eyes, ready for a long, dreamless sleep.
The cat gave a cry.
I glared. If that stupid cat was going to keep me up all night than I might as well kill it and eat it. But the cat seemed to smile at me, yawning and rolling over on its back, kicking its dirty paws into the air. Something so bright shouldn't exist here. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I grabbed one of my two short swords, bringing it closer to the clueless feline. I brought the blade down.
But stopped.
The cat was staring at me, wide eyed, and then it suddenly looked away, continuing to jump upon my bed, attacking the air as though it were a mouse. I glared again. Great. I can't kill a cat. I can kill four dozen Heartless a day but I can't kill a stupid, meaningless white cat. I turned away, throwing the sword into a wall, and lying back down, my eyes warning the cat to calm itself.
It obeyed.
Rolling my eyes, I pulled the single sheet of cover over my body. This blanket cost me more money than the Elixir did, for warmth is rather expensive in this world. I would've made one out of cat fur, but those damn things are hard to get a hold of. And wolfs. Sure, I could take a wolf, maybe even two, but I liked wolves. At least they were half intelligent creatures and knew when and when not to come into the city. They often hid in the shadows, as do I and wait. They never attack humans, for humans have almost no meat upon them.
It was true. No one is over-weight here or in the least bit plump. Food is scarce and must be eaten with caution. I, too, have lost wait since I first arrived here, losing more and more as the years go by. But to keep my weight up, I constantly work out, building muscle in replacement of fat. I am much stronger now than I was four years ago, which gives me a feel of security.
No one dares to mess with me. I used to be serious, but now I am cold and merciless. And it does not bother me, for everyone is cold and everyone is merciless. And so I stared at the white cat once again before truly falling off into a deep sleep. And I couldn't help but think that the cat reminded me of someone. And it was not until I was fast asleep when I realized...
It reminded me of Kairi.
