Chapter 5

The Hollowed Shrine

(Part 4)


What!? I lay still in my bed as I absorbed what the stranger had said to me. I could not believe what was happening to me right now. First, I could see red lines that could chop anyone and anything. Second, I was being treated by a very, yet friendly, shady psychiatrist. And for the third…I was currently being pinned down by lots of people, with smelly body odor, who were in cahoots with this strange man, who called himself a Necromancer Mage.

"M-Mage?" I have encountered many villains before who were magic wielders…but none of them were called a Mage! I thought as I tried to move, but the more I did so, the more the people on top of me weighed me down.

"Yeah, I am a Mage. A Necromancer Mage, take note." The man whose name was Kairi Shishigou said to me. He made a couple of footsteps towards me and stood beside my bed before he added, "You did heard me earlier, about what am I about to do to you, right?"

I could feel the man's gaze lock on my face, especially on my eyes beneath the bandages. It made me gulp in fright.

"You—you want to pluck my eyes out…Why!?"

"Because my client, one of the Mages from the Mage's Association, wants the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, which was surgically put in you."

Mages Association, Mystic what of what!? What is he saying?! "I-I don't what you are talking about-!"

"Of course, you do not. You are nothing but an unfortunate boy chosen to become its container, through luck mind you, by the person who was supposed to bring it to my client."

Surgically? So, the eyes that was transplanted in me was truly cursed. But who put it in me!? I ran my thoughts, but I could not think straight as the people on top of me tightened their grips all over my body. "Who—who put it in me-!?"

"Your psychiatrist, Touko Aozaki." The man answered me straightly and without missing a beat.


"Touko…Aozaki." I said in disbelief at the name of the woman who helped me and befriended me, and it resounded strongly inside my mind.

The first time I met her, I knew something was wrong, so I kept my suspicion up.

Now I found that my suspicion was correct. So, she was the one who put those accursed eyes in me and because of her…I could see those horrifying images.

Those damn red lines.

"By the way, you Viltrumites are pretty famous in the Mage's Assoc." The man continued. I shifted my head towards him. "Plucking those eyes out are one thing…but killing one of your kind, it's actually going to bring me some extra income – fame even."

"How do you know that I'm a Viltrumite?" I breathed the question out of my mouth in a hard way. As far as I knew, Viltrumites lived in complete secrecy. Knowing one existed meant there was a leak on the side of the Global Defense Agency – at the Guardians of the Globe, to be exact.

"It does not matter. What matters now was your eyes and your life. I have read the file about you, regarding your uncanny birth."

Eh? I sharply gasped as my heart moved faster in terror. How did he know about my birth?

"Markus Murphy, the boy who was born from rape, and the former 'Invincible'. You are a good hero." I felt a metal softly scrape on my ear. The man must be holding a blade or some sort, ready to gouge my eyes out as he continued. "Sadly, you no longer have the right to become one because no superhero should be born from crime. Its contradictory to their purpose – their origin – to be exact. Superheroes should represent the ideal man or woman. They are the bastion of good morals and righteousness. They are…the figures who represent justice itself."

And then I felt a cold metal poking my right cheek, just beneath my eye. "And you are no longer qualified in those attributes, little Invincible, because anything that is born from hate is nothing but an abomination. And so, with that, I will give you a quick way out so that you will no longer feel the pain of living in shame."

The man moved his blade, trailing my cheek down to my neck. And then he whispered with his harsh, grave voice to my ear. "I am going to kill you, Markus. Because the 'afterlife' is the perfect place for abominations like you."


After the man spoke the word 'abomination,' I lay still on my bed. The words resounded strongly inside of me and began to build up into a mixture of many feelings.

Abomination…Me…? I remembered my last session with Touko earlier, about me having a chance of becoming a superhero once again.

'The world doesn't need Superheroes. It only needs good people to do the right thing.' I hate to say this, but this man, whose name was Kairi, was somehow correct. Superheroes only existed to become the perfect role model for humanity.

They only existed to give comfort to the innocent people, so that they would always feel safe and secure.

They only existed to bring inspiration to the children.

Their existence was for the sole purpose of protecting the peace and doing good.

That was the true definition of Superheroes. And I no longer qualified.

I was born from rape, from a crime, and because of that, I was no longer qualified to be a hero. I could no longer become an inspiration to the children, or to become a perfect role model for mankind. An ordinary person who rose up after losing his parents was a better inspiration than him.

However…if being a Superhero was all just for being a role model, then why did villains still exist? If being a Superhero was all about inspiring children to do good, then why were there still children who were born bad or a menace to the world?

Why was evil still existing in this world?

Touko was right – the reality of this world was not a bed of roses, but a garden filled with seeds of sin, waiting to bloom and be unleashed an unfathomable fury.

This world did not truly need Superheroes in costume. It only needed good people that could cut the bud of sin and mow the flowers of sinners.

This world…is a GARDEN OF SINNERS and it only needs one thing: a man who is willing to cut down evil.

The fear inside my heart quickly disappeared and, in its place, a familiar feeling bloomed. It was rage.


"NO!" I shouted at the top of my lungs and used my Viltrumite strength. I quickly made a barrel roll in my bed, sending the people on top of me in all directions.

"Fuck-!" I heard Kairi exclaim in shock. I think one of his lackeys had hit him hard. Good. What goes around comes around.

I quickly rolled to my left and staggered my footing as I moved back, only to hit something solid behind me. I must have hit the wall of my room, which meant they could corner me.

Fuck. I cursed under my breath as my mind realized what I should do next.

I must see the room so I could plot my escape and for me to do that, I must remove the bandages off my eyes. But if I do so…I would see those damn red lines.

"Fuck it! It's either me or them!" I cursed again, this time to the solution of my current predicament. Oh, to hell to those damn red lines! Why should I care anyways? I should protect myself first!

I quickly pulled and teared the bandages apart. And as soon as I did, I immediately opened my eyes.


My eyes flooded with the vision of my room. It was dark and poorly-lit by the bright full moon shining behind me through the windows. And now I could finally see my enemies.

They were indeed a group of people; I counted twenty of them. However, I noticed something else. The twenty people were that of different men and women, all of them wearing hospital gowns and a green tag with the word 'Mortuary' on their right wrists.

What…? I blinked and observed them more. Other than the tag that indicated that they came from the morgue downstairs, I finally noticed something else.

Their skins were all pale, making them look dead.

No. They are dead! These people are not humans. They are…zombies!

"Zombies?"

"Tch. Just where did your recovery come from?" I shifted my gaze to my bed. There, I saw a large man, whose complexion was normal. The man pushed a body off of him and stood up. His shades reflected my surprised face. His voice matched the man who threatened me earlier, which meant he was the one who wanted to pluck my eyes out.

"You're the one who wants my eyes?"

The man hardened his frown and, instead of answering me, he only raised an object – a golden Egyptian ankh.

"Get him!" I swore that I saw the object flash gold, but before I could move, the nearest zombie – a man – twitched his fingers and roared as he charged.

My eyes immediately darted to the zombie.

*RED LINES*

And just like before, those damn red lines appeared. But unlike before, I was not scared of it.

Here goes nothing! I raised my hand and extend my index finger. With only my instinct to guide me, I traced the red line, flashing on the zombie man's neck.

*SLASH*

I only felt my finger brushing the zombie's neck softly, and yet the effect was not what I was expecting.

The zombie's head cleanly detached from his neck, his blood, dark and rotten, sprayed over my hospital gown.

"Holy shit…" I cursed under my breath, but my shock was short-lived as I heard the man bark another order with a hint horror in his voice. He, too, must have been shocked at what I had done to one of his minions.

"GET HIM!"

Two of the small horde of zombies – a teenage boy and girl - growled and charged at me.

*RED LINES*

I quickly moved my finger and traced down the flashing red line that ran vertically on the boy's body. The boy's corpse quickly collapsed, cleanly in half. I then curved my finger again, this time upwards and chopped the woman in a slant manner.

"This looks eas-" I found their attacks easy to counter, but before I could celebrate, my eyes widened as another zombie man leapt out from the horde and ran towards me. "Shi-!" I tried to see the red line on him, but he was too quick. He latched both of his hands on my neck and pushed me with force. The windows cracked as my back made an impact on its glass.

Before I knew it, I felt the cold air brush my skin as the zombie pushed me through the window and outside of my hospital's room.


I fell many stories from my room, the wind screaming to my ears, but I was more terrified of the zombie in front of me. His hands tightened around my neck, making me gasp for air.

However, I was not going let him have his way.

"No, you don't!" Red lines flashed before me, and I trailed on both of man's forearm and neck. The man's head and forearm detached. I immediately rolled forcefully, which softened my landing to the ground.

"To think…killing those zombies would be this easy…" I groaned each of the words as I felt an electric pang on my legs and the cold earth beneath my feet.

I look up to see where I was currently standing.

I found myself standing in front of a park that must have been part of the hospital. Trees lined up on the side of a pave walkaway in front of me. Lights coming from the lamppost standing along the walkaway casted long and eerie shadows around me.

Where am I-? "Well, it seems you've finally awakened, Marky." The voice of a woman, deep yet mellow, rang out from my right. I quickly darted my eyes towards an oak tree. My fist raised, ready to punch whoever was there. It could be one of that man's lackeys again.

My eyes caught sight of a woman that slowly emerged from the shadow of the tree. She was tall, slender, and wore a white shirt and black pants. A lit cigarette was in her hand while her eyes, red just like her hair, focused on me. I felt a strange feeling from her graze, but I quickly shrugged it off.

"Who are you!? Are you also here to fucking pluck my eyes out!?"

"Why would I when I was the one who put them in you in the first place?"


I gasped softly in shock. I was still in disbelief that Touko was the one who put these accursed eyes on me and I expected to confront her soon.

I just did not expect her to just pop out of nowhere and appear before me.

"Touko?" Why does she sound so different? The Touko Aozaki that I knew had a sweet voice, and yet, right now, her voice was completely different.

"Yes, Marky, it's me. And I know you have lots of questions."

"Damn right I have-" I paused, however, when I heard a loud thud behind me. I turned around and saw a zombie woman on the ground, slowly getting up. Then another zombie followed her until they began to pile up.

Tch. Damn it! I really wanted to interrogate Touko, but now was not the time.

"Touko, are you the one behind this attack?"

"No. It was actually done by Kairi Shishigou. He's a Necromancer Mage hired by—"

"I know that part! Why does he want my eyes!?" I asked in irate manner. Touko puffed out some smoke.

"Marky, I would love to explain everything to you," Touko began, but the dead cut her off as they began to growl in unison, creating an unholy sound, "but we have to leave right now."

I understood why Touko said that to me. I looked up and saw the Mercenary Mage three stories above me. He was looking down at me, with his Ankh outstretched and glowing in gold.

He is still commanding the dead with that thing. "What would happen to the dead then? Will they continue chasing me?"

"Yes. But I know a place where we can hide from Kairi's zombie horde!"

Hiding from the horde was a good idea. However, the Necromancer Mercenary's zombie horde might continue to chase me down. What if they got to the city then? A lot of people would certainly get hurt from their attack…or worse, be killed.

I do not want anyone to get hurt. I thought as I stood my ground. Touko might have noticed me because she turned her attention to me.

"Markus."

"No, I will end this right here. I am not done with that Kairi yet…" I want to know the whole truth. I stood and stared at the horde in front of me. All of them had already recovered from their fall and all of them had brandished their teeth at me.

As for me, I was no longer scared of attacking them. Those red lines that could chop anything filled my vision, and they were flashing all over their bodies.

All I needed to do was trace it with my fingers.

And trace it, I shall!


At the beginning of their attack, I killed four of the zombie horde. Right now, the remaining sixteen and me were having a stare showdown.

I waited for them to move. Meanwhile, their master, Kairi, stared down at me, waiting for me to move.

*Roar!* The silence of the night broke apart as the horde made the first move. They all roared down and began to sprint towards me.

And as for me, I pulled back my hand and swung it upward. The first one to take my attack was a man. I split him in half vertically. I then swung my whole body, raised my leg and traced the line on a zombie woman's waist, chopping her into two parts. I quickly flew low and swung both of my hands outward and inward, ending four zombies immediately.

The remaining ten quickly pivoted and changed directions as I flew towards a tree. I then rolled my body and used the tree to shoot towards the group. As I did so, I began to move both of my index fingers in a rapid manner.

Since the zombies were all lined up perfectly, I easily them cut down as I charged speedily. Before I knew it, I was down to the last zombie. It must be a child no more than twelve. It growled at me before it sprinted on all fours towards me.

But I did not hesitate. I quickly swung my leg and traced the vertical line on his head. The whole upper half of his body flew and landed behind me.


"And that's…a wrap." I said to my self and breathed hard from exhaustion as I stood over the ground that was now completely dyed in dark red. My hospital gown, which was previously white, was now dark red from the blood of the zombies that I had killed.

My body felt like shit, it had been a long time since I made moves like that, and since I didn't get much physiotherapy for my movement, but I did not mind.

Because there was still one remaining problem left for me to solve.

"Now…for the main problem." Now that the zombies were gone, I shifted my attention towards the third floor, and saw Kairi. The Necromancer Mage's face showed a half-opened, terrified expression.

Good. He had witnessed how I killed his little walking dead horde, so I was pretty sure he would be very open to answer all of my questions. Because if he didn't, I would make him regret his own existence in this world.


I quickly flew towards the Mage, ready to confront him. I saw Kairi take a step back and stared at me with his mouth shaking in terror. The man must not be used to getting cornered like this. Well, if that is so, then there is a first time for everything.

"You said your name is Kairi Shishigou, am I right?" I began with my voice grave, giving him a sign that I was pissed with him.

"Yeah. If you are going to kill me, then do it. I know that Viltrumites are just aliens whose language is murder and conquest."

This man…fears no death at all, huh. I could not help but feel amused with his reaction. However, I shrugged it off. As far as I knew, this man was a mercenary hired to pull my eyes out. Killing him would not amount to anything unless he was planning to hurt innocent people.

All I wanted to know from him, however, was the name of the person who hired him.

"Mr. Shishigou, I will ask you a question. Who hired you…to take my eyes?"

Kairi shifted his shades at me for a moment, his terrified frown slowly changing into a hardened, contemplative look. He seemed to be thinking whether he would tell me the truth or lie to me.

"Don't lie." I warned him and it had an effect. The man clicked his tongue in dismay and answered me.

"There's no use lying to you…since a single one of your kind can destroy this planet in a month." He threw his Ankh to the floor. The object shattered into tiny pieces and disappeared before he added, "The name of the person who wants your eyes…is Marisbury Animusphere."

Marisbury…Animusphere. "Where is he?"

"Don't bother finding him. He'll find you, if he wants to."

I was confused at what he said. What did he mean 'he'll find me, if he wants to'? I wanted to ask more, but before I could, the Mage took out a small voodoo doll and quickly threw it to the floor.

A black smoke suddenly enveloped me as the Mage spoke. "See you later, little Invincible. Hope we will never see each other again."

Damn it! I finally realized what just happened. He threw a smoke bomb at me just so he could escape. I quickly swung my hand, blowing the smoke away, and when I do so, my eyes met my empty and ruined room.

Kairi Shishigou had disappeared.


After the Necromancer Mage's smoke and mirror escape, I flew to the ground again and stood with a lost look.

Marisbury Animusphere. All wasn't lost for me, however. I finally got the name of the one who wanted my eyes so bad that he would resort to plucking them out of my head. I would make sure to find out more about this guy.

"It seems he escaped you, Marky." I turned and saw Touko again. She was standing beneath a lamppost, a lit cigarette in her hand.

"Touko…" No, this isn't over yet. I thought as my attention shifted to the 'psychiatrist' with a fake identity. I got some answers from the Necromancer Mage, but what about the mysteries surrounding her?

Why did she lie to me and why did she put these accursed eyes in me?

"I'm done with Kairi…Now what about you, Touko? Explain yourself to me." I faced her and cast an angry look. "I'm serious, Touko, if you lie to me-"

"I won't lie to you, Marky. I'm not an ass like the previous Mage. I'll answer all of your questions." Touko cut me off as she puffed out smoke from her cigarette. She shifted her crimson eyes towards me and smiled.

"My name is Touko Aozaki. Other than being a psychiatrist, I am also a Magus."

"A Magus, just like Kairi?"

"Yes. And its true that I'm the one who put those eyes in you."

Ah, now we've reached the main problem. I made a fist with my hand and asked her more. "Why did you put these accursed eyes in me, Touko. And what are these eyes anyways?"

Touko stared at me for a moment before she made a tired sigh.

"A long time ago, I had a colleague whose name was Shiki Ryougi. She came from a family of ancient demon hunters." She paused and blew smoke to the air before she continued. "She had an ability. To be precise, her eyes had the ability to see the death of everyone and everything. That ability is called the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception."

Shiki Ryougi. I remembered that name. It was the person who donated the eyes. So, she had the ability to see death. Was that the reason I could see those bloody images? Because, somehow, I activate her powers in an unknown way?

Touko glanced at me with a thoughtful look before she took a whiff of her cigarette and explained more. "Because of her ability, she was targeted by the Magus Association. To be more precise, she was being targeted by that man called Marisbury Animusphere. And he hired me to do that."

"Hired you? So why did you put it in me then?"

"It's because I made a promise to Shiki. Shiki, on her deathbed, didn't want anyone to use her eyes. She knows how terrible and powerful it is. And so, as her former colleague, I respected her last wish. But I had to be very clever about where to put them so that they'll never find it…or reach it."

As Touko explained everything, I put it all inside my mind. "And you think hiding it in me would prevent them from getting it?"

"Yes. Because you're powerful, Markus. And not just that – even though your kind exists as rumors, Viltrumites are said to be dangerous and almost invincible. Finding you was out of pure luck. I know this may sound wrong to you, but I made the right decision in putting those eyes in you, Markus, because if the Magus Assoc gets them, they will use it in one of their secret projects." Touko pulled out a compact mirror and showed it to me.

"Look at your eyes, Markus." I took the mirror and stared at the reflection of my eyes.

"What the-!" I almost dropped the mirror on shock. As far as I remembered, my eyes were jet black, but now it had changed. The retina of my eyes were no longer black, but were instead lit up in a myriad of colors. It was as if a rainbow was trapped inside. They were glowing and swirling like a kaleidoscope toy.

"Oh my god…" I gasped sharply as I gave the mirror back. My knees felt weak. I kneeled to the soft earth.

I now knew what I was truly seeing. I now possessed this ability, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, one that I got from the mysterious Ryougi Shiki. I would always see death in my wake.

"I-Is there anyway for you to remove this?"

"I am sorry, Marky. I didn't expect Shiki's eyes to activate and connect to you. If you can see those Red Lines, then you will see them forever…even if you remove your eyes."

Shit…I am fucking doomed. I thought in gloom as I began to worry about my future. However, Touko quickly spoke to me after she noticed my distress.

"Don't worry, Marky. I'll teach you how to use your eyes. I will even still help you recover from your trauma. I'm sorry that I lied to you. You don't deserve your situation right now. So please, trust me again to help you."

Trust you? I could not help but feel irony to her words. She was the one who put those eyes in me and the reason I was having these horrible visions. Not only that, she used me as her scapegoat. But I did understand as to why. The new ability that I got from Shiki's eyes was too powerful. I could kill someone just by merely tracing those strange Red Lines. If these eyes fell into the hands of the Mage's Assoc, especially that mysterious Marisbury, then things might get out of hand.

I couldn't imagine what would happen to the world if a villain took hold of these eyes and its insane ability, but I knew it would be catastrophic.

"Does it look like I have a choice?" I asked her, but I obviously didn't. She looked like she was truly sorry for what she had done, so the only thing I could do was forgive her. "Touko…I still don't trust your therapy, but I will trust you to help me control this new ability."

She smiled, satisfied with my answer, and extended her right hand to me. "Don't worry, Marky. I will help you with this. And as a start of my cooperation with you, I'll welcome you to my workshop and home… 'The Hollowed Shrine'."


Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Kara no Kyoukai and Invincible. Names, places and events are all fictional, if one exists in real life then it's purely coincidental.

Special Thanks to Pure Red Craine for beta-reading this fanfic. :)

Woo-Hoo! Now we've come to the first debut of Markus. How do you find his newfound ability, the mystic eyes of Death perception? Is it too OP, or too underwhelming? Because for me, it's too OP. But nevertheless, it's exciting! Imagine, a Viltrumite with a Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, my golly, it would be extremely deadly, he or she would be dangerous even for their own kind.

In anycase, I will discuss some Fate/Series Lores with you. I'd already planned that the main enemy of my story is Marisbury Animusphere. He's from Fate Grand Order and he's very deceptive. (Mind you, he's a very ambitious man and he's willing to use anyone or everything, including his own daughter.) Also, it wasn't comfirm yet but it looks like he's going to be the main antagonist of the popular Fate grand order, mobile game.

Now what is Fate Grand Order? Its a series separate from Kara no Kyoukai but it occurs on the same universe of that of the series. It's a pretty good anime game, so check it out sometimes guys! :)

Well then, It looks we've come from the end of the first arc. 'The Hollowed Shrine' from here on, I will make this story a little bit unpredictable so that I could give you some excitement. And with that I would like to end this by thanking everyone who liked and followed this fanfic and as for those who only read, I also offer my gratitude with you all. Thank again, and don't forget, you may leave reviews if you want to.

See you later, Thinker out!