Echos of The Arcane

Dumb Teen Boys

My parents died when I was younger. Our house suddenly burst into flames in the middle of the night. They both died asleep, unaware of the tragedy as I was pulled away by first responders. It's been a little over a decade since that day. That day, marked the awakening of the Arcane. August 14th, 2073, Rivers Pharmaceuticals. released a treatment that effectively targets genetic diseases at their source, meant to prevent their transmission from one generation to the next by repairing faulty genes before reproduction for unborn children. While the treatment did as intended, the eradication of genes left space for new ones to manifest, reawakening long-dormant genes in the babies' bodies that allowed the use of magic reawakened, bringing the first generation of Arcane humans for thousands of years.

Ever since I was born, my parents had always told me to hide my... features. Sunglasses, blindfolds, hoods, face masks... Anything that could conceal these inhuman traits I held... They tried their best to shield me from the public. I was used to the overprotective matter of my parents, though I never really understood why I looked so, different compared to everyone else. But when the day of the Awakening came to be... I lost them. 

To me. And I wasn't the only one.

The year is now 2084, marking the 11th year since the SPD and people of Syntharia have been purging us Arcane from the streets and sometimes selling us to corrupt rich people who wish to utilize us for our abilities. I'm one of the lucky few who can hide our abilities and lead a normal life by being able to conceal my power... or at least, a life not being hunted down by the SPD or people who want to get rich off of exploiting us. It's hard, in this city. Many call it the birthplace of the Arcane, we call it hell... Or at least, some of us do.

August 5th, 2084

 2:29 A.M

Syntharia, Oregon

Konran District

The morning that followed I woke up even slower. I have been lying in bed for nearly an hour, snoozing alarms from my phone every time they sounded. My body felt so strangely weak that I couldn't even roll over onto my side. Charlie has probably already left for work, She would have woken me up by now. I groan as the loud alarm from my phone next to me blares in my ears. I let it go on for a few more minutes until I snooze it again...

I guess my streak of daily morning push-ups is ending today... I need to get up... What did I need to get up for again? School? No... No... I don't go to school... What did I need to get up for... As I struggle to recall my plans, my ears begin to ring once more, Ugh... again with this? Does it have to do this every time there's something I'm unaware of?! As the rather annoying sound fades out of my head, I hear a meek muffled voice tapping on my window. "What now...?" I ask myself with a strained voice before turning toward the oddly annoying sounding voice and finding a boy dressed in nearly entirely leather fabric, smiling and giddily waving at me. Oh, it's Billy... Oh my fucking god, it's Billy.

Suddenly, I felt as if energy had rushed into my body as I stood up and quickly slid the window open. "Kintaro! So you are still alive! I thought you--WOAH--!" Billy suddenly exclaims as he clumsily falls into my room, knocking over my lamp. "Yeah, I'm alive. The only gift I've ever asked for... Why wouldn't I be?" I ask in a semi-stern, semi-sarcastic tone as I look down at Billy, who is now groaning on my floor before quickly getting back onto his feet, hopping up a little as he pushes himself upward, his enthusiasm quickly returning. "Well, I mean you didn't respond to any of my texts... You usually take night walks and you have those creepy fangs and all that whenever you smile and whatever so I thought that River got you and like... You were in one of their creepy warehouses and you were about to be sold--"

"Woah! You think so little of me? I feel betrayed dude!" I say dramatically, cutting him off. before letting out a little chuckle. "How—How did you even get up here? I'm pretty sure there's no fire escape near my wind—" The Rats." Billy says with a strangely monotonous tone and blank expression before returning to his enthusiastic demeanor. Right... Having the power to talk to animals is cool and all... but Billy has this obsession with... rats. Creepy if you ask me. Wait, how would the rats even... Oh, whatever, there's no point in questioning him, he can just bullshit anything into existence. "Anyway... I'm glad you just overslept. Though I'm a little disappointed that you didn't show up."