"We Who are Hated by Life Itself"

Chapter 1

sem·blance
noun: the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different

┌─── ⋆⋅ASHTEM⋅⋆ ───┐
    "Everything,I've lost everything." A man whispers to himself, standing on a balcony and what was it all for? He thinks. Creating the strongest bey? He chuckles to himself. What a naive idea. After Red Eye was beaten by that nobody, all the Snake Pit bladers had left, now he had more than just a couple kids to worry about.
    He had made some powerful enemies through Red Eye.
    If only he had been a bit older, a bit smarter, not obsessed with his ideas of strength. What would've happened if he had stayed out of the whole ordeal, if he hadn't gotten in Valt Aoi's way, if he hadn't started the Requiem Project.
"What if?", a torturous sentence that had been flitting through his mind the last couple of months. Funds were dwindling low after losing the Raging Bulls. He would have to find a way of earning money sooner or later.
    "Theodore." A voice snaps him out of his thoughts. He turns to see a man with green hair behind him. "Theodore," the man repeats.
    "Norman?" Theodore Glass turns the blader standing behind him. "I'm guessing you've come to leave like the rest of the bladers." he hisses, venom edging his voice.
    "Not exactly, Glass," Norman walks around the glass table taking up center of the room. "I just thought I'd come to see you after your Requiem Project failed, figured you might want my assistance."
    "It's Theodore, please. I don't think I require any assistance, thank you." Theodore forces on a fake smile. Both men stand, gauging each other for a while.
    "Anyhow," Norman starts, breaking the suffocating silence, "I repaired Noctemis."Twin Noctemis, a weak bey and victim of the Requiem Project.
    "Ah, then all is well Norman," Theodore smirks, sitting down in the office chair behind the table, his head tilted, resting in his hand.
    "Perhaps, but Noctemis is trying to say something." Norman says.
    "Yes, now what does this have to do with me?" Theodore questions, he had abandoned the Ashtem schtick long ago.
    "It's scared," Norman's voice has a tremor, almost fear in it.

        "Requiem is alive."

┌─── ⋆⋅SPRYZEN⋅⋆ ───┐

    "SHU!" A blue haired boy comes rushing at the blader. Shu had been hanging around the back of the house while the celebration raged on. The whole beyclub and the rest of BC Sol had gathered to celebrate Valt's victory. Shu just needed a break from the whole ordeal.
    "Uhnf!" Shu groans as Valt tackle hugs him. He'd been doing that all day, ever since Shu returned.
    His days possessed by Spryzen had left so much fog in his memories, he remembered almost nothing after the Requiem Project. Though the events and memories might be gone, the pain wasn't.
    "Shu, you good buddy?" Valt asks. He's just concerned about everyone.
    "Yeah." The white haired blader responds.
    "Okay, ya just seemed kinda zoned out there for a sec!" Shu chuckled at his energetic friend.
    "Valt!" Nika's voice calls, "mom brought more bey bread!
    "Yummy yummy get in my tummy bey bread!" Valt yells, immediately forgetting about Shu. Shu smiles warmly as Valt rolls at unrealistic speeds towards the dining room.
    "Hey Shu." A black haired boy rounds the corner to where Shu is hiding out.
    "Daigo." Shu nods a bit too stiffly. He hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Daigo. The shorter boy just leaned against the wall next to Shu, sitting in silence for the longest time.
    "Why?" He suddenly asked. Shu was caught off guard by Daigo's question.
    "I don-" Shu starts
    "Why did you leave everything, your friends, everyone. We looked up to you, not just in the stadium." Daigo's voice began to crack a little.
    "You betrayed us, and for what? Power? Greatness? I guess it showed the person you actually are. I don't know why or how everyone else is willing to forgive you." Daigo finished and got up, leaving Shu in stunned silence.

        "I don't know either," Shu whispered to no one.

┌─── ⋆⋅LÚINOR⋅⋆ ───┐

    Three weeks. Just three weeks. God damn.
    Lui Shirosagi paced the length of his apartment. He knew forming such a strong link with his bey was a bad idea. But he wanted strength so he did it. Every day the sound of metal in his ears. The sound of metal cracking and shattering.
    Lui's bright flaming hair was now ruffled and unkempt, the winter knight had obvious bags under his eyes. His hand absently drifted to the table beside the bed where Nightmare Lúinor was usually kept. All that was left is fragments and the driver. Images flashed in his head. Two beys in a stadium, running out of stamina. The sudden sound of a burst, Storm Spryzen's red layer breaking in half.
    But it wasn't like that. Lui had never even dared set foot in the realm of a corrupted bey.
    Lui picks up the driver, sitting himself on the bed his fingers running over the ridges of it. He turns the ring around the driver.
This was supposed to be the ultimate bey. It let me down. Maybe- just maybe. Was it my fault? Perhaps I pushed it too hard. No, the bey wasn't strong enough. That had to be the problem.
    What the hell am I doing? Lui got up, shaking his head as if trying to clear a physical mist. The phone rang. Lui didn't bother looking who it was as he picked it up.
    "Hey Lui." A calm, deep voice spoke from the phone.
    "Gabe." Lui could hear his own voice, scratchy and tired.
    "Doesn't sound like you're doing too well." Gabe could always tell how Lui was feeling, obvious or not.
    "Yeah that's not too hard to figure out." Lui scowled through his phone.
    "Lui, I get you don't like friends, or help, or anything of that sort but Rideout is worried about you. Kyo, Shinki, Katana and me are always here." Gabe said.
    "Yeah gotcha, I don't need your support or whatever you're offering." Lui had never liked help, especially during times like this. He could care for himself.
    "And a word of warning." Gabe paused. "The blading world is changing, I've fallen behind already, but something tells me new changes are at hand. More power, but with more power comes more darkness."
    "Alright, whatever, go do whatever you do." Lui told him.
    "Gotcha."
Lui hung up and laid back down on the bed.