Outcasts: Awakening

Prologue

Ashes...
Roaring flames...
Darkness...
Blood...

These things came to mind as he stood there, motionless, watching as two people- his parents, no less- were slaughtered and torn, limb from gory limb, right before his eyes. He felt blood splatter across his face, across his eyes, but... He did nothing. Not a twitch. Not a movement. Not even a gasp.

He didn't feel anything. No pain, no agony, no heartbreak. Just... An indescribable emptiness. As if he couldn't feel, as if what was happening in front of him was not important. He simply stood there, unblinkingly, watching as the two who had ever loved him were reduced to a pile of limbs and blood, the ruby-red liquid oozing through the floorboards.

And brooding above them was a veiled figure, covered in the darkness of the room. All he could really see from it was the bright blood-splotches that garnished it's body. But as the smoldering fire within the house grew brighter, he got a better look of what it was. It appeared to have fur, he guessed, as one of its claws brushed through it and spread the blood out. In the other claw it gnawed on a bone with its razor-sharp, menacing set of teeth and fangs.

But what stood out most was it's yellow, glaring eyes. So many things could be seen within them: Lust, greed, despair, betrayal, heartbreak, loathing. As if this hulking beast had been scorned in the past, and was looking for anything to fill the void left there.

Then its eyes turned to him, and a twisted, malicious grin spread across its muzzle.

"What have we here?" It cackled, now clearly a female. "Another morsel to feed me!? My, you shouldn't have!" She began to howl in maniacal laughter as the creature slinked its way towards him.

Still, he didn't move. He wasn't afraid, and he didn't want to run. He wasn't angry, and didn't seek revenge. What was it?

"Hmm... Wait..." She hummed, circling him, inspecting him. After another moment, her grin grew wider. "It really is you! I mean, you look different, but I could never forget your scent! I didn't even expect to find you here! Just thought another info-broker was playing me!" She stepped up and swept him up so they could see eye to eye. "They changed you quite a bit, huh? Oh well! Your father can fix you right up! Would you like that? Do you want to see your father, young master?"

Silence. Not a sound came from him as he stared into her eyes, unwavering, unaffected.

"H-hey. You alright?" The beast asked, voice wavering slightly, expecting more of a reaction. "You're not dead, are you? Hmm, no... You're still breathing. But, what's wrong?"

Still no answer.

"I know I just killed your 'parents,' young master, but... What? Why're you..."

Nothing. Just a blank, unblinking state. At this point, this beast had decided to break their stare, finding nothing within his eyes. It made her skin crawl.

"S-stop that," she told him. "Do something! Anything! Resent me for what I had to do! Be happy I'm taking you home after so long! Don't just..."

She stopped, knowing it wasn't getting through to him, and threw him roughly to the ground. Taking a step back, she extended her hand out to her side and started growling. With a spark of light, flames erupted at her feet and in her hand, spreading and taking shape. It seemed to mold itself a bit before dissipating, leaving in her hand a pitch-black battle axe, with pulsating orange stripes along the shaft, almost like the fires raging within the house. The blade part was almost like that of a guillotine, curved with polished, sparkling steel.

Not a second after it had been created, the blade was up and on his throat, a trickle of blood spilling from where it touched.

"I'll... I'll kill you, you know!" The beast threatened, though she knew she would never go through with it.

Not a flinch, not a care in the world. He didn't even feel the blade. He felt nothing, even with death staring him in the face. Even as the house he grew up in crumbled into rubble around them.

"... How? How aren't you afraid!? How aren't you reacting!?" She shouted, jumping back a good foot away from him. "What did they do to you!? Those humans!" She spat out in disgust. "It's like..."

She looked back into his eyes, still finding them cold and... Almost lifeless, while her own were on the brink of tears. All of her searching, all of her fighting, all of her meaningless bloodshed, all to find him. And now...

"It's like they took your soul," she continued, choking back a sob. "H-how could they do that? To a child!? An innocent child!?"

She looked away again, shuttering. Her hand started to grip her axe tighter.

"... I'm sorry, young master, but... I won't allow you to continue living like this anymore. No one should be subjected to something like this."

'She plans to kill me?' He thought, as if it meant nothing to him.

Once more, their eyes met, as her muscles seemed to tense up. "Forgive me, my lord..." She started, as a tear ran down her face. "... For what I'm about to do."

Before either of them could realize what was happening, the beast let out a blood-curtailing war cry and charged, axe high in the air. Once close enough, she let the axe start driving down, right at his head.

But right before the axe-blade, inches from his face, cleaved him in two, the image before him faded. In an instant, thousands-nay, millions- of images blurred past his view, only letting him catch glimpses of a few that he saw in vivid detail: A group of people, three friends, taking a picture in front of a school. Another image: One of the boys from the picture, holding a giant sword, facing off against something veiled in bright light. The next: A raging inferno as far as his vision would allow, and a hulking black figure in the distance. And finally: two figure veiled in darkness, sharing a tender moment underneath stars and a crescent moon.

He wasn't too sure what all of this meant, since they shoot by so fast. But all other thought left his mind as one final thing entered his view: A heart. Not one of the fake ones he may have seen before, but an actual, pulsating heart. Something, however, seemed off. Instead of red, this heart was blue, and chains almost engulfed it. The pulse was weak, so very weak.

Perhaps... Was it his own heart?

"My, to think something as insignificant as you would give me so much trouble," a voice chuckled, though he couldn't tell if it was male or female. The chains that coiled around the heart grew tighter, and he started to feel pain, a great, crushing pain.

'Help me... Someone...' He thought, not knowing what else to do. 'Please...'

"Oh well," the voice chortled, the chain growing tighter and tighter, blue blood spilling from the heart. "Time to die."

---

"NOOO!!" Michel screamed, shooting up into a sitting position in his bed. A cold sweat rolled down his whole body, his breath coming out in short, hot pants. He looked around, trying to find where he was. He was still in his room. He was fine.

"W-what the hell was that?" The teen thought, looking down at his hands. "Just what the hell was that?"