The End of His Tale

one

Sun Tzu once said, "In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity."

Oriana already knew this.

She sat on an office chair in the corner of her dark bedroom. On the desk in front of her was the blaringly bright white screen of her computer and an open book. She brought one leg up onto the chair and sighed, tilting her head and staring blankly at the dark ceiling.

The open book was on a topic of warfare and on the screen played the livestream of lofi. She pondered whether or not she should boot up a game to play, but nothing in her already lacking steam library caught her attention. The book in front of her was more interesting, and that was saying a lot as she reread that book almost four times.

She looked back down to the desk, when an indescribable sense of dread filled her body.

She shot up from the desk and drew her blade from her inter-dimensional pocket.

Bright red strokes dashes across her floor, illuminating the room with a crimson glow. From the previously pitch dark room, she can now make out the intricate strokes on the painting hanging above her bed. The lines darted by her feet and underneath the soles of her slipper. The lines reconnected with each other, overlapping in varying sizes but with the same expertise.

The moment that those lines conjoined and looked a bit like a circle, she kicked the door of her room open and sprinted outside as fast as her legs could take her. All the while occasional glancing back at her feet, seeing the neon red drawing following her the whole way. Oriana bursted out the backdoor of her remote house and for as far as her eyes could see, there were red markings everywhere on the grass and even the road beyond the vast grassfield. The aura being emitted from the dashes rose up, challenging the sun with its ominous glow.

Her legs started feeling weak as she tumbled onto her knees. Her blood surged in her body, trying to awaken, but it was futile. Her sword dropped from her hands. Her golden eyes were drooping and she realised that she was falling into a sombre sleep.

"Fuck,"

She managed to get out, before her head rested against the soft grass of her back yard.

===

Red Grave City was in a very obvious mess after the appearance of the demonic tree; the Qliphoth tree. The buildings were in a wreck, with asphalt and broken concrete littering the shattered streets. Electrical wires and the plumbing are all dysfunctional and the putrid smell of blood and sewages plagued the city. Natural light was the only thing one can rely on at nighttime. Screeches and howls of demons can be heard from the other side of the city as the occasional human screams seconds before their unfortunate demise. The city was already evacuated but those who remain are demons and devil hunters who set off on the quest to save this broken city.

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed over the city, but no rain fell.

A clap of thunder sounded uncomfortably close to her ears. Oriana winced away from the explosive sound, but she still does not have the will inside her to open her eyes. She noticed that her feet did not reach the ground and the air around her body was surprisingly cool. Only when the blaring sunlight hit her face did her eyes slowly flicker open, trying to adjust to the new brightness after being asleep. The winds around her wrapped fabric around her body, fitting it snugly as to not make it too stiff. The end product was black shorts with fishnet leggings and a belt holding up a piece of midnight blue fabric, acting as a long half skirt. Bandages were wrapped around her chest and her left arm all the way to her knuckles. Over all that, there was the same blue fabric, held up by another belt, to cover over one of her breasts and over her left shoulder. The other hand had a long fingerless glove. The finishing touch however, was the bandages tied around her eyes and the sword that formed in her hand despite her not summoning it. A weight was felt at the base of her back. Touching it, she recognized it as a heavy revolver by the name of Executioner. The beauty of a S&W model 460XVR.