'Can you hear me, o brave soul?'In the void, a voice resonated. Lars could never remember how this event fully transpired and what was it that said to him. All he knew was that a voice called out to him. The voice was calm, with certain warmth of welcoming yet also with a melancholy of bitter parting.Lars opened his eyes and found himself in an empty white chamber. The room was brightly lit, like the pristine white walls were made of light itself. There were runic writings on the wall and some were on the floor, circling the entire room.The runes were alien writings for Lars and yet despite he couldn't understand any of it, he was captivated. The soft golden glow emanated from the runes felt so soothing it was almost hypnotizing him. The runes glowed in unison, in a manner that resembled a heartbeat resonance."Where... am... I?"Lars' voice echoed across the room, yet it traveled ever so slowly to his own ears. He was completely delirious, mind hazy and body felt like hot
After being screamed at, Lars immediately went to lift the monster's body for Tirana to wiggle herself out of there. He found the body surprisingly light despite he was moving roughly an adult bear sized creature with ease and no assistance at all. Len's jaw was dropped due to either too shocked or too confused watching Lars' incredible display of strength."Thank you," Tirana said after she could finally stand up. "And thank you for the earlier, as well."Tirana looked at Lars for a while before she smiled, showcasing her pretty dimples. Her prominent cheekbones were rosy and sweaty from the earlier battle. While Tirana dusted off dirt from her white clothes, Lars picked up her spear and handed it to her. She clicked a switch on the spear's socket and the handle was significantly retracted, turning it into a rod more than a spear. She put it on her bag and fished out a fancy bottle containing turquoise tinted water."Are you hurt anywhere? You should drink this if you do."Lar
Once Lars and Len were back in Angel's Snack, they immediately went to their room, took a cold shower and got changed. They were planning to isolate themselves for the rest of the night and just ordered a room service for dinner. However, when Len made the call, he was informed of a peculiar instruction."What's wrong?" Lars asked."Oh, they said the dinner will be served at the rooftop table. Apparently, it's already reserved for us."Lars and Len didn't need to guess that it was Tirana's doing. They were reluctant of leaving their den but it seemed they had no choice. They could only hope that they do not encounter any friendly guests who wanted to share stories so they had to pretend like they did not just involved in anything remotely exciting earlier.Despite their reluctance to go there, Lars and Len were quickly in awe of the sight at the Angel's Snack rooftop. The night view of Antares outskirts was mesmerizing with little lights in the distance sprinkled all over the d
In his 18 years of living, Lars Sykes had never been an early riser. He never saw daybreak nor sunrise unless he was awake the whole night, hanging out with his friends or playing video games. Hence, it was a peculiar sight for Len to woke up alone and found the bed next to him had long cold.Len looked around and noticed the room key was missing from the nightstand he left it on. It was still an hour until breakfast time so Len deduced they had enough time to pack before that and leave immediately afterwards. Len had thought to call Lars with the disposable phone he left him with, but decided not to.Something unnatural just happened to them and it was not just about the monster attack, Len knew that very well. He remembered seeing his brother's mangled body when the monster brutally tore him apart. The darkness might've dulled the redness of the scene, but Len saw enough to piece the puzzle into a grotesque picture of horror.Len saw the scene because back then, he decided to
"You're an alchemist?""That's so cool!"Lars and Len couldn't quite contain their excitement over the wondrous basement Tirana had. It was like they were kids in a candy store, marveling at everything and wanted to touch everything. But still, they knew better not to carelessly fiddled with the colorful spheres, various kinds of flasks on the table or the bubbling cauldron. They may not know much about chemicals, but they knew enough to not mess with them.Lars carefully inspected a peculiar gear mechanism on the work table. "So, does all the agents of VERSE are alchemists or...?""No, they just have a dedicated division for it. There are those recruited from military background, mercenaries, or graduates from VERSE academy like my father. I'm simply continuing his legacy.""What is it that alchemists do? How do you make all of this?" Len asked.Tirana smiled in a way that was clear that she anticipated such question. "Alchemists are the bridge between science and magic. W
Lars woke up in a harsh jolt, his head felt like throbbing. Tirana who stood by immediately went to the couch where he was laid and offered him a glass of water. Lars gulped the whole thing like his life depended on it."Are you alright?" Tirana asked."I'm not sure how to answer that," Lars said. He looked around and noticed an absence. "Where's Len?""Went out to get some food. You've been out cold all day, Lars. It's 8 PM now."Lars just stared in disbelief. He didn't remember much of what happened during the divine encounter, but he did remember what was being said to him. The experience might be quite taxing for him, but at least Lars had some answers."Does the name Alt'ma mean anything to you?"Tirana was quiet for a while, thinking. "Not at all. Why do you ask?"Just when Lars about to explain, Len had arrived with some plastic bags in hand. Lars gave him a smile for reassurance but Len rushed to his side either way. Tirana instinctively took over the plastic bags
Lars and Len were rendered speechless as Tirana commenced her plan. She had spread her signature white mist from her spear, creeping all over the woods surrounding the Hibiscus House. At that moment, the world was in pure white.Under the guise of the mist, Lars, Len and Tirana went straight to the Hibiscus House. Tirana was in the front, leading them with a black mask that she said enabled her to see through the mists and breathe safely from its dangerous components. It was a silent walk, only accompanied by concerts of frogs, crickets and other inhabitants of the woods.The rubbles of Hibiscus House were soon in sight, and so did the police guarding the scene. The police were in pair, and looked completely flabbergasted with the sudden appearance of the mist. Despite being only forty feet away, the police failed to notice the sneaking trio's presence."So they couldn't see us... because of these brooches?" Lars whispered."Yeah, these are imbued by invisibility magic. I forgo
Three weeks prior to meeting Lars and Len, Tirana Al - Samarrai was seething with rage. She had just arrived in Antares, exhausted from tidying up her childhood home's basement workshop, and she knocked a vase containing the last supply of ground black orchid she needed for her synthesis.Black dusts were all over the floor and Tirana was a hair thin from losing it. She tried to calm herself, reciting istighfar over and over. Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes. She knew what she wanted to do was wrong and against the teachings of Islam that she devotedly follows, but she was too far gone to turn back.Margaret's death was the last straw for Tirana. She couldn't bear the idea of accepting her best friend, someone who had been with her since childhood, died because of a rampaging VEIL and not a single VERSE agents are deployed to deal with her killer, to avenge her.Though Tirana did spend her childhood in Antares, surrounded by family of alchemists with deep ties to VERSE,