Uriel couldn't shake off the strange feeling he kept getting as he boarded the subway to the 4th district where he lived. The unexplainable chill at the back of his neck caused him to glance behind him from time to time. This made some of the other passengers cast wary glances at him. Not that he could blame them. With the way he was acting, he could easily be mistaken for someone who just committed a crime.
I'm probably coming down with something.
Without realizing how much time had passed, the train slowly came to a halt, and he eventually got off the subway. Making his way down the street, his thoughts drifted to the situation at home.
His stepfather and stepsister were currently visiting his home, and they were making his life a living hell. His stepsister, Lorraine, had recently gotten engaged and was visiting her fiancé, who happened to reside in the same city as Uriel. They had decided to stay at Uriel's apartment rather than go to a hotel, and he was currently regretting a lot of things—partly ever allowing them to stay.
I had better get a backbone. I can't keep letting them push me around anyhow they want.
This thought floated through Uriel's mind before he stopped abruptly. Looking around, he realized that he was in an unfamiliar alleyway. By this time, the moon was partly hidden behind dark clouds, its lazy rays struggling to bypass the almost tenebrous-looking sky.
Just as he was wondering whether he had taken a wrong turn, the strange feeling he felt suddenly surged in intensity, bordering on eerie. The space in front of him began to twist and warp as though the surrounding environment was being squeezed like a piece of cloth. Uriel felt a gaze that seemed to transcend space and time roam over him, seemingly seeing through his body down to his very core.
"This—" Uriel struggled to speak. Under the weight of this gaze, he felt his bones creaking, and even his blood struggled to circulate.
Suddenly, the pressure he felt disappeared, and his surroundings slowly returned to normal. It seemed as if everything that had happened was nothing but a figment of his imagination. As the cool evening breeze grazed Uriel's skin, he couldn't help but let out a sharp breath of air that he didn't even know he was holding in.
He looked around dumbfoundedly, trying to understand whether he was hallucinating.
"What in the world just happ—AHH!!!"
Before he could even finish speaking, a sharp pain assaulted his mind and body as the sounds of flesh tearing rang out from his back. He couldn't help but let out a miserable wail.
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If another person were to witness it, they would see that two sharp mounds were protruding from his back as though they were on the verge of bursting. Moreover, mysterious cuts kept appearing on his body as though it was being sliced by something invisible. However, Uriel could hardly notice this, as the pain he felt in the depths of his mind was much more than any physical pain he could comprehend.
He could feel a vast and terrifying will quickly taking over his mind and erasing his sense of self.
No...
He tried to fight back, tried to reclaim control over this inhuman invader, but it was comparable to throwing an egg against a mountain. It was futile.
In the last moments of his life, Uriel's mind couldn't help but wander to his mother. He was never able to get revenge for what happened to her. Not to mention that he hadn't even fulfilled her dying wishes.
He reached out his hands in desperation and felt something sharp in his palms. It seemed alive and squirmed in response to his touch, cutting up his hand further. At this point, his eyes flashed red with rage and unwillingness.
He could feel, deep down, that the pain he felt was because something was taking over his body. In other words, it needed his body alive.
I’ll be damned if I let you have your way.
Clutching the sharp yet squirming object, he mustered all his strength and raised his hand to stab it into his chest.
Squelsh!
It effortlessly slid in like a knife cutting into hot butter, stabbing into his heart. As the strength ebbed away from his body, Uriel couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
This was his final act of resistance. He had spent his recent years wallowing in regret and daydreaming about revenge but never tried to do anything to accomplish it.
He had finally put his words into action. No more dreaming, no more delusions—just actions.
If only I had made this decision a bit sooner, heh...
Uriel let out a despondent chuckle as his eyes slowly closed.
However, at that moment, his eyes abruptly opened again. This time though, only the whites of his eyes were visible, as if his irises had disappeared. His body jerked clumsily in a funny yet eerie fashion, forcing itself to stand shakily before pausing for a few seconds more.
His mouth slowly opened, and an indescribable noise came out—as though hundreds of voices were trying to scream, laugh, and cry at the same time.
Two large shadows slowly rose from behind him, stirring up small gusts of wind. Suddenly, they flapped, and in the blink of an eye, Uriel's figure could be seen no more.
Thirty minutes passed by in the alleyway before a large bipedal creature entered the scene. It had a hulking frame and was covered in dark fur. A majestic mane of white framed its face, which seemed to resemble that of a lion’s. But what attracted the most attention were its eyes.
They were a majestic gold and very feline-like, giving off the air of a king.
The creature sniffed the air for a while as an expression of intrigue crossed its visage.
"A gate actually opened here? Is that even possible? Moreover, it seems to have let a visitor in. This is a strange day indeed."
It slowly licked its lips, revealing sharp canines that seemed to be smelted from metal.
"They say curiosity killed the cat. I really hope that's true," it muttered in a deep voice before stomping its foot, leaving a crack in the ground as it phased out of sight with incredible speed.
