Disguises || REWRITE

Chapter III

TW: Gore and vomit

"Second uprising?" y/n shook their head. "What on earth are you talking about?" Tess grabbed y/n's hand and pulled them upright. "History is bound to repeat itself," Tess started, staring wistfully into the distance. "And it seems he is rising once more," y/n furrowed their brow. "I'm gonna need you to stop speaking in riddles, man. I don't-" y/n was interrupted by a loud tremor in the earth. It lasted much longer than the ones from before, and an earth-shattering roar echoed up from within the city hall building. "Wh-what in god's name-" Tess shook his head, clenching his fists. "He awakens," y/n blinked rapidly, barely able to understand what was happening. They swiftly turned to Tess, grabbing his shoulders. "What the hell is going on!?" Tess took a deep breath. "The old king is taking the life force from the corrupted to come back to life," y/n tensed. "Old king? Wait, you mean..!" The city hall erupted into pink fire, sending shockwaves of dust and bodies.

A clawed hand grabbed the floorboards of the city hall roughly, splintering the old and dry wood. A deep growl echoed from the hole, and slowly, a silhouette rose through the collapsed roof of the building, rising to a height that could only be described as colossal. "Wh- what the f-" "Get out of here! It's not safe!" Tess turned towards y/n, pushing them away. "But my friend!-" y/n tried to reason. "That's not your priority right now!" Tess shouted.

y/n's thoughts were interrupted by something brushing against their leg. Looking down, they were shocked to see Mira staring back at them. Quickly, they scooped their cat into their arms. "Mira! What on earth are you doing out here!?" The cat just meowed and rested into her owner's arms. Tess pushed y/n and Mira away. "Move it! Get to shelter ASAP!" y/n tried to protest, but was quickly swept up into a crowd of fleeing civilians.

—

It wasn't long before y/n and Mira found themselves being corralled into an empty building by a couple of police officers. One by one, everyone was ushered into the basement of the building, a flurry of murmurs coming from the already jam-packed room. y/n was soon ushered into the area teeming with people. Clutching Mira closer to their chest, they slowly made their way through the crowd and into a nearby corner. The cat meowed into their chest, looking at y/n with wide eyes.

It was mostly silent in the room, save for a few whispers. y/n busied themselves with their phone, doing something they never thought they would do in a million years— researching the history of Paradise. The Old King was a taboo subject in schools. y/n remembered their highschool history teacher almost getting fired after mentioning the topic briefly in class one day. Apparently, he was a dictator of sorts that took over Paradise for a while a few centuries ago. Then four heroes supposedly sent by the gods came to defeat the Old King.

It honestly sounded like religious propaganda rather than an actual part of history, but y/n continued to dig deeper, unknowingly falling down a rabbit hole filled with secrets swept under the rug.

x—x

A pair of leather studded boots struck the rotting wood floor of the town hall, the owner staring upwards towards the afternoon sun. The sky, sensing his presence, darkened fast, beckoning storm clouds from beyond the horizon. His eyes narrowed, glaring at the heavens for taking away the sun. He stepped forward with thundering steps that shook the earth. He ducked through the doorway, coming face-to-face with an old friend.

"You," Tess sneered. He stood silently, watching Tess's scarf blow in the wind. "Who do you think you are!?" Tess exclaimed. "What makes you think you can just waltz in here and take the lives of our people?" Silence fell upon the two. He, who was surrounded by bodies, and Tess, who stood bold as ever before him. He cracked a smile, exhaling through his nose. "It's ironic you should be saying that," the sound of his voice made Tess falter. It was deep, and filled with resentment. Tess grit his teeth, hiding his hand behind his back. "Don't you think so too-?" He was cut off by a sword being thrown his way. His smile dropped, eyes trailing to the glowing blue sword that embedded itself in the ground before his feet. He leaned down, pulling the sword from the ground before effortlessly snapping it in half. It burst into a cloud of shards, flowing into his chest. He pushed a lock of hair behind his pointed ear, lips curling into a snarl.