With wide opened eyes, the young man stares at the happenings around him. White fire consumes everything, moving towards him at a pace almost instantaneous. The sky itself has lost all color, occupied by a void as pale as the flames that consumes all. Around him, people react to the inferno differently.
Some smile as they turn into ash, seated on the floor as they do, and others, while on their feet, shout at the top of their lungs till silence and cinder are all that remains.
As for the young man watching all of this, the snow white blaze soon reaches him, and yet, instead of pain, he feels warmth. "Yield, young man, and you shall find peace." The strength from the young man's legs drain, but as he falls, he regains his balance.
He feels the desire to surrender, but the wish to be his own is far more powerful. So he stands. So he screams.
His life flashes before him. A life filled with regrets, a life in which he was alone for most of it. A life in which he had not known romantic love and the pleasures it brings, a life which he had not known the feeling of being recognized as someone worthy. Through it all, he had always been and still is powerless.
With all this despair coursing through him, he is taken apart piece by piece. Yet, something holds him together, and that factor combines with the pain. The mixture stirs his soul, and he feels it rise.
His eyes open, and a very familiar sight meets him. His room.
Letting out a groan, the young man reaches for his phone. After looking at what's on display, he pushes himself up, bringing himself back to the same trudge that had lasted endlessly.
Maverick Li is nobody spectacular, a speck amongst the sea of people he passes through every single day. Now, after another long day has passed, Maverick finds himself back at the front door of the place he rented.
Looking up at the night sky, the young man frowns, with him then turning to the side. He watches the dimly lit street for some time, and he speaks.
"A little exploring won't hurt, right?"
And so his first deviation from a routine that has lasted for two months begins, with him walking down the road he had stared at. Cars pass by his side, repaying the attention he does them. Also, as he walks, he continues to rub his hands together before breathing into them, letting the warmth combat the freezing assault the winter night brings.
…
A person catches his eye. A white woman with fair skin matched by lush pale hair. While glaring, she looks around, allowing Maverick to catch sight of her big yellow eyes which, while prominent, does little to staunch her beauty. She also appears quite young, possibly no older than her early twenties.
Other than her appearance, her clothing compliments her charm, said clothing being a black jacket over a dress also black. Other than beauty, another aspect of the dress draws Maverick's interest.
The cloth does not cover her legs.
The woman's glare soon stops on Maverick, prompting his eyes to quickly dart away. "Hei, the fuck are you doing here?! Get out of here! Shoo!" The woman's shout, spoken with a heavy foreign accent, causes Maverick to stare at her, and she continues.
"I said-" She pauses, and as Maverick stares, her anger filled gaze moves around. Joining the yellow eyes, Maverick pauses.
Out of thin air, peculiar creatures spawn. Their wings beat, carrying an orb that darts around. The creature then shouts, revealing fanged mouths at the center of the orbs, with the inside of the mouths also layered with bone-made blades.
Lastly, at the side of the orb's heads are ears resembling that of a bat's.
"Fick…" The woman says, and what she does next causes Maverick to cover his mouth. In her right hand, a Chinese sword seems to spawn out of thin air, and in her left, a katana. Lastly, a third katana appears and hangs at her left hip. "Idiot…" The woman says, her anger apparent from her voice.
Also, while the word she says sounds supposedly familiar, the way she says it as foreign as the accent she has.
"Hei, dumbass!" The woman shouts, drawing Maverick's confoundment as she looks around, "You better move! Fuck up and you are dead!" Maverick continues to stare, and the woman turns to the monsters and speaks in a foreign tongue.
"Bien! I will drown you all in flames!" After her shout, what she proceeds to do cracks a smile on Maverick's face.
Black flames burst out of her two swords, flickering as she proceeds to swing said blades around, causing the fires to fly at the creatures. After a shriek, some of the creatures fall, and the remainder let out their own cries before flying at the woman.
…
The smell of something burning, a very strange smell. Of course, Maverick has not had the fortune, or misfortune, to smell burning flesh, but whatever that smells like, the smell that fills his nose is fully alien.
The woman combats the burnt remains' remaining comrades, shooting them down with ease despite the numbers. While the creatures are fast, her fires allow her to vanquish them with no real effort. While some of Maverick's attention is directed to the monsters, a fair portion of it is on the woman.
A powerful, beautiful, and mystifying force.
As Maverick watches her, the stranger turns around and glares at him, speaking angrily as he backs off slightly.
"Merde." She runs at the young man, and as he freezes, she continues shouting, "Move to the side, you fucking idiot!" "Wha-" Before Maverick can finish, he hears wings beating behind him.
"Argh!" The woman shouts before she swings her sword in Maverick's direction, and a fire proceeds to explode behind him. Hearing a monster's screech, he turns around to see one backing off.
With the threat gone, the woman continues firing, or swinging away. Soon, her flames clear out the remaining monsters.
The woman's anger remains despite her blades not, and she rubs her head before the eyes said anger inhabit move to Maverick.
"Scheizhe." She again says in a language he does not know, and she continues doing so, "What should I-" Before she can finish, an impact sounds from behind her, and black chains seemingly made of light tie themselves around her, causing her to fall onto and crack the floor she stood on.
"Miststuck! For you to give me so much trouble!" A man of Caucasian descent shouts as he walks up to Maverick and the woman, also speaking a foreign language. The white man bears a head of brown hair, and is dressed in a red coat as a detail of bodyguards follows him.
As the group of strangers approaches, Maverick stares at the balled fist of the man seemingly leading them. Around the man's fist are chains bearing the same appearance as the ones tying themselves around the woman on the floor.
…
"What should I do with you?" The man says in a foreign tongue while looking at Maverick, with whatever he said completely unknown to the latter. As the mysterious man strokes his chin, Maverick's attention passes between the stranger and the glaring woman on the floor.
"What…" As Maverick pauses, the man looks at him with an eyebrow raised, and Maverick takes a deep breath before continuing. "What are you doing with her?" Maverick's question draws a stern expression, and the answer is said in a tone matching the gaze.
"Do you truly wish to know?" While the mysterious man answers, just like the unknown woman, he speaks in a very heavy accent. However, while the woman's accent is entirely foreign, the man's seems to be German.
After the man speaks, Maverick continues.
"I… Please… don't…" He stops and gulps, and the stranger continues. "Don't what?" "Don't… hurt her…" "Hahaha!" The white man laughs at Maverick's words before responding. "I wouldn't worry too much about her. You, on the other hand…"
At the man's words, Maverick turns over, watching the woman as she lies on the floor, clenching her teeth and glaring at the Caucasian man.
"Why not I share something interesting with you?" The white man continues, though Maverick's gaze is still fixed on the woman, "That cunt is called Joan of Arc. A French saint who died centuries ago. As to why she is dressed like that, trust me, I have no idea." "Joan…" Maverick's call prompts an answer from the woman. "Jeanne…"
While staring, Maverick goes on. "Jan?" His call leads to the woman's eyes widening, before she then growls, causing him to swiftly continue, "Sorry! Your name's too hard!" "Hahaha!" The man besides Maverick laughs once more before going on.
"I know. That's why I use the English name." After the stranger speaks, Maverick tries to smile at Jeanne, who continues glaring. "Now," The man continues, "I could wipe your memories, but that'd be a bit too boring."
At the stranger's words, the eyes of both Jeanne and Maverick widen. Maverick then takes a deep breath, and despite his attempt to fight, a light from the mysterious man's hand easily repels him, sending him to the floor, where he stays.
"Fuck…" Maverick says before he smiles at Jeanne, "Guess I will be seeing you soon, huh?" At Maverick's words, the saint stares in horror. Meanwhile, the mysterious man speaks up. "I wouldn't bet on it."
As the possibly German man speaks, a light shines at his hand, the very same hand being pointed at Maverick. At the sight, Jeanne continues to frown at Maverick before screaming.
"Stop!" At her shout, the mysterious man pauses, and so do his followers and Maverick. Their gazes proceed to move, studying the area they are in. After Jeanne's shout, the sights surrounding the group changed, and now they stand in a purple colored void.
Amidst the unending purple, a voice sounds some distance away, and the spectators all stare at the source.
With purple colored crystals growing out of its back, a giant bear, which stands taller than Maverick despite being on all fours, approaches the group.
…
"Damn it! Release me, you arschloch!" Jeanne shouts, struggling as she does, with the possibly German man and his followers staring at the creature approaching them. "Herr…" One of the bodyguards call out, and the man leading them proceeds to draw a gun while shouting. "Schiessen!"
At their leader's call, the bodyguards also draw their guns, and they and their employer pull the trigger. However, instead of bullets, light bolts fly at the mutated animal approaching them. "Argh…" The creature growls at the impact, and it proceeds to circle the group.
"Herr…" The German man's followers call once more, and while Maverick continues studying the bear in the vicinity, the German man speaks in his native tongue.
"Hurry up and release me, ficker!" Jeanne shouts once more, and the creature begins to approach her and the others. In a panic, Maverick turns to where the German man and his band stood, and he stares.
The unknown group has retreated into the distance, and while smiling at Maverick, their leader speaks.
"Not everyday you get to see a man eaten by a bear, and that bitch's a servant. She will be fine."