Chapter 16: Birth of a Legend

  "Mons... Monster!"

  The word died with its speaker as his head separated from his body. That night, the sky was agly beautiful – tless stars scattered across the darkness, no clouds daring to cover the moon's perfect face. Us cold illumination, in a small house that had witoo much, Clotho tio pound Marco's severed head long after it had bee unreizable. Drops of blood spattered across Hasina's motionless face, each crimson bead a mockery of the tears she could no longer shed.

  Clotho's amber eyes, once so full of warmth and life, had bee hollow pools – as if something fual had been torn from their depths. Time stretched like a wound until finally, he rose. With gentle hands that trasted sharply with their earlier violence, he covered Hasina's body with linen and lifted her into his arms.

  Moonlight crept through the small window, casting long shadows as Clotho dug into the earth, each shovelful of dirt an act of devotion. He id his wife to rest in that deep embrace of earth, watg as tears fell like rain upon the freshly turned soil. With trembling fingers, he pced a potato – her favorite, meant to be her birthday gift – in the ground and carved words in Heraphant:

  'She erfect'

  His hand lingered on the inscription, uo break this final e. If life held meaning, Clotho's had just been buried in the cold ground. His eyes, though exhausted from weeping, showed no mercy to themselves – tears would pause only to flow anew, like a tide that refused to stop.

  When he finally stood, a bell's toll pierced the night, drawing him like a moth to fme. In the distaood the church he'd passed tless times but ruly seen. Men in their despair often sought anchors, but Clotho had lost his – life itself seemed hollow. Still, his feet carried him forward, toward where a solitary figure sat. Even at this hod's fiveness refused to sleep.

  The priest looked up as Clotho approached. "Child, what do you seek? Food? Shelter?"

  "Purpose."

  "Purpose?"

  "Lost and abandoned, I am a soul severed from faith, seeking meaning again and again in you... you give purpose to my life?" Clotho's gaze fixed upon the great star symbol above, refusing to meet the man's eyes.

  The priest pted before closing his eyes. "Child, the world awaits diviervention. 'He' will soon grace us. Keep faith in the Almighty."

  Clotho turned away, the words falling hollow on ears that had heard too much emptiness.

  Present Time

  An hour passed in the quiet room. The man in his white robe slumbered beside Clotho, who rose seeking air on the baly. The ected balies of Veneria alis stretched before him like a steel maze. As his vision wavered between focus and blur, a cool draft swept across his face. Turning to tame his wild hair, his gaze met another's – a girl standing on a neighb baly, her arked with the number 32. Sensing his attention, she turheir eyes log in mutual reition of somethiher could name.

  Why do you feel as if you are the same as me?

  The thought echoed in both minds. Clotho, without wasting his thoughts, retreated to his room.

  "That man..." she whispered to the night, her eyes distant as moonlight illumihe market below where her innoce had been stripped away mere moments ago.

  Upourning, Clotho found his owill sleeping, probably exhausted from previous activities with his sve number 16. He settled on the floor, the clock tig his only panion until a chilling realization struck.

  Why 't I hear any breathing?

  He rose sharply, eyes fixing on the sleeping figure. His blood froze. The man wore a smile that should have been natural, but where lips should have been, there was only void – a grotesque parody of human expression, as if something else wore the man's face like an ill-fitting mask.

  What is this? Some spirit host?

  As his mind raced through possibilities, reality began to . The wrew hazy, its edges bleeding like wet paint. Despite his inhuman strength, Clotho felt helpless before this unknown force. Outside, the moon shoh unnatural brightness, the night stretg eternal as time ted down his remaining moments.

  "Wha... what is happening... I 't... breathe..."

  Seds felt like eternity until Clotho colpsed, his eyes rolling back as sciousness fled.

  The Basic Guide to Brahman

  Published by UG

  Written by Maxwell dyle

  Chapter 2: Pret Possession

  Acquiring supernatural powers of Brahman proves more challenging than mastering them. After three turies of researd aimated two million casualties, only two methods have beeified: iahrough bloodline or Pret possession. For detailed information os, refer to Chapter 78: Characteristics of Prets.

  A crucial note: both paths carry extreme risks. Children iing Brahman face a 40% mortality rate at birth. Pret possession offers only a 30% ce of survival. These statistics remain sistent across all doted cases...

  The moon illumihe entire night as if preparing to wele someone. Clouds that often veiled its light from mortals now cowered in a clear sky. A chill draft blew across the nd. In the distance, somewhere in town, a radio pyed. An old melody by Madam Brue Marayoor, a famous singer from a tury ago, drifted from one of the small houses where creatures who had lost the meaning of humanity now slept. A melody of love between devil and angel:

  "When I met you in a crimson soil bereft of its humanity, did you fall for me as I fall for you.

  Regrets we held in our heart half, did you fill the half with your presence..."

  "Let's e again a uhe same light, after this night's passion we should bee what we were as strangers..."

  After some time the world seems to stop around and the silence falls down on the earth while darkness illumihe room where Clotho was lying down.

  "Who am I?"

  "Ahh..."

  "What happened?" He whispered as he slowly tried to stand on his knees.

  A question surfaced in his mind again and agairied to recall everything.

  "Who...am...I?"

  I am sve number 16....

  No...I am Clotho Lu...

  Crity started to return as he opened his golden eyes again.

  Hasina...

  A name suddenly hit his mind like a wave among the tides.

  "Hey, catch her!"

  "Don't let her get away!"

  "She o be executed, she has bitten down on the t!"

  "Hey, don't hurt her too much. She is an expensive goods!"

  Clotho heard tless shouts from outside. He walked forward, his eyes emotionless. Opening the door, he found the girl pio the ground by a rge man, with three soldiers surrounding her, each holding a spear. They wore metal ptes as – the typical guards that apanied high he girl wore only thin fabric that didn't even preserved her dignity.

  It was the same girl he had seen before on the baly.

  Clotho walked forward toward the se.

  "Huh? A sve? What are yo-" The guard's words ended as his head was blown away by his own spear, now in Clotho's grip.

  The others didn't eve a ce to react.

  "Who the hell are you, bastard?" They charged forward, but in vain. At a speed imperceptible to normal humans, Clotho ripped all their heads off one by one.

  Pandemonium spread across the Veneria alis. The night was young and the moon bore wito a beautiful dance of blood performed by a single man. Wheire hallway ran red and silence reigned, Clotho turo look at the sole girl now standing naked before him, her only piece of fabric lying soaked in the filth of humanity.

  Clotho looked into her blue eyes. Despite the massacre, not a trace of fear was shown in them. Her sharp gaze bore deep into his own.

  "What are you pnning to do from now on?" she asked.

  "A world which is not worth living should. I pn to erase it. I will bee the apocalypse for this world," Clotho said, meeting her gaze.

  "Good. It's also what I want."

  "I don't pn on taking ah me."

  "I don't pn to take orders from you. I would do what I want, and what I want is to follow you to see the end of this world."

  She tinued, "How should I address you?"

  "Clotho..." he paused, then said with determination, "Clotho Servus."

  Servus...it means sve? The girl thought to herself.

  "If yoing to follow me, then start by introdug yourself. Don't you know it's basic courtesy?" Clotho said, ions were visible on this dark skinned face.

  "I don't have a name...I did have one...but...I want tet the past....how about..."

  She thought for a moment and said, "I decided I should be Hasina Servus."

  Clotho's eyes widened. His emotions ed in turmoil within his heart. Outside he remained calm, but inside a sharp pain ached in his chest.

  Clotho turo walk away but paused and said, "Good name.”