Melaenis and Vulces looked into each others eyes for a solid ten seconds. Vulces took the initiative and held his hand in the air for a hand shake. Melaenis took his hand and shook it briefly.
Melaenis:"Yeah man, I turned back home just a few days ago."
Something seemed off about Melaenis and Vulces sis catch that.
Vulces:"Are you okay?"
Upon hearing Vulces's words Melaenis began to stammer.
Melaenis:"O-of course I'm-m fine."
Vulces knew something was wrong but didn't want to investigate further, after all he was his friend who just turned back home.
Vulces:"So what are you up to?"
Melaenis:"You know, stuff..."
Vulces:"Ah yes I know, stuff."
Melaenis kept his silence for a bit and then asked.
Melaenis:"Did you get your I.D.?"
Vulces:"Hmm? Oh yeah I did."
Melaenis:"Okay cool. Mind if I take a phone call?"
Vulces:"Go on."
Melaenis walked a few steps forward from Vulces and took out his phone, dialed a number and pressed the call button.
Then he started to speak in a foreign language, Vulces not knowing what he was saying stood there awkardly.
As Melaenis finished his call with the foreigner friend he approached Vulces.
Melaenis:"So what are we doing? Let's celebrate our reunion!"
Vulces became suspicious of his sudden change in behaivour and voice tone.
Vulces:"How about we drink? Want to down some bottles?"
Melaenis:"Yeah sure why not? I know a place somewhere near want to go?"
Vulces:"You know a place? Didn't you turned back just a few days ag-"
Vulces was cut off by Melaenis's joke punch to his side.
Melaenis:"Yeah, and the first thing I did was to try my homelands alchohol."
Vulces:"Seems legit."
As the two of them started walking, the conversation between them dried up in words. No one was speaking. Vulces wanted to break this unwanted silence but he remained silence because he was intruiged of his friends behaivour.
Melaenis:"We're going to take a right from this corner okay? The place I told you about is a little bit into the back alley."
Vulces:"Its fine."
They took the right on the corner and started walking down the alleyway.
The smell of weeks old garbage, the scent of urine from the homeless people, the little tap sounds of dripping gutters, this place was nowhere near suitable for a bar or any establishment related to food and drinks.
Vulces:"Are we there yet?"
Melaenis suddenly stopped.
Melaenis:"Yeah, we're here."
Vulces:"Here? But I don't see any-"
Vulces's words were cut off by the big splash of bleach. In the shock of the moment he swayed sideways and looked at Melaenis, who just splashed him with bleach.
Vulces:"Wha- What the f*ck are you doing?"
Melaenis didn't answer Vulces's question and started to walk on him.
Vulces:"G... Get the hell away from me!"
Vulces yelled in a turmoil of emotions and activated his blessing.
The familiar shiny ferro-titanium chains shot from his wrist, he grabbed the chain by the start of it and took a stance which people who use whips take.
Melaenis:"Sorry to bother you my old friend but they want you dead."
Vulces:"They? Who the hell are they you..."
Vulces screamed profanities to the face of his friend, nor knowing if it was correct to call him a friend anymore, tightening the grip on his chain shooting out from his wrist like an extension of his limb.
Melaenis:" The Salvation, wants you dead Vulces. You have to die."
Vulces:"The Salvation? Who even are they?"
Melaenis:"Don't worry, you will be long gone by the time world reaches true salvation."
Melaenis spoke as he splashed Vulces with more bleach.
At that exact moment Vulces solved the puzzle inside his mind about where Melaenis were getting his bleach. He exactly wasn't, he was making it himself because it was his unique blessing.
Vulces:"So you learned how to control your blessing without splashing it on yourself?"
Melaenis:"You'd be right, my teachers in the cult thought me well. I have to say that your chains doubled in number and width I see."
Vulces:"That's right, continous usage of it improves the blessing."
Melaenis:"But you still won't shut your mouth."
Vulces dodged another attack by Melaenis, modifying the end of the chain connected to him to look like a hook and hooking it to a pipe near him.
Vulces wanted to question him on all the matters regarding the "Salvation" but he was too busy dodging the splashes thrown by him.
In a brief moment Vulces had the idea of binding him and handing him to the police but that would only restrict his access to the precious information Melaenis contained.
Vulces, clearing up his mind to fight effectively, shot multiple chains at once in the direction Melaenis. Melaenis dodged several of them but eventually got caught up by two of them.
Melaenis struggled his way to escape free from the chains but his efforts were in vain. Vulces bound him firmly to one of the pipes present near them.
Melaenis:"Now what? You're going to kill me?"
Vulces:"No, I still have questions to ask."
Melaenis:"I'm sorry but you're not getting them."
Vulces:"What you mean by that?"
Melaenis smirked devilishly as he opened his mouth and yelled.
Melaenis:"Long Live The Salvation Order!"
Fininishing his words, Melaenis drowned himself in his own blessing creation. He gagged, vomited, screamed for help. Vulces, standing there flabbergasted, couldn't do anything.
Slapping himself in the face, Vulces tried to save him, he unbound his chains and helped Melaenis to vomit. As he was vomiting vigarously, Vulces pulled out his cellphone and gave a call to Nariemi.
Vulces:"Nariemi, you have to help me. I have a guy who works for the changing world powers or some shit. He tried to off himself by drowning in bleach but I managed to buy us some time."
Nariemi's soft breathing heard from the phones speaker, and then a sigh.
Nariemi:"Just where in the hell are you?"
Vulces:"Some alleyway behind the main street, there was a huge trash can at the entrance of it."
Nariemi:"Okay, I'm sending Kyravor and Merdafiel."
Vulces:"Thank you so much."
Nariemi ended the call, Vulces put his phone in his back pocket and helped Melaenis to get back to his feet.
In a moments notice the duo Vulces saw back few days were there.
Kyravor:"Sheesh young fella, you really beat up this guy bad..."
Merdafiel:"What are his vitals? Is he in imminent danger?"
Vulces:"He drank bleach Merdafiel, how do you expect him to be a-okay?"
Merdafiel:"I'm sorry..."
Vulces noticed he lashed out at the most innocent person present and felt guilty.
Vulces:"Let's just carry him somewhere else or he will really die."
Kyravor:"Oh I know a place!"
Vulces and Merdafiel turned to Kyravor in disbelief, not knowing what this drunktard might bring but they had no choice aside from following him to his shady medical friends.
