Chapter 2: Ordinary Life

Like how any dream ends, I woke up to the painful commander known as “the alarm”.

Its screams forced my body awake and prevented any attempt I made of falling back to my slumber.

And if that wasn’t enough, it happened to be a Monday morning. Such a cruel thing life is.

The sun’s arms beamed through my bedroom blinds and placed their fingers all over my bed.

It was a hard fought battle, but I managed to escape the clutches of my sweet warm blanket paired up with the final boss known as “the pillow”. My strategy was rolling out the bed and landing head first on my carpet floor, a strategy that never failed me.

Getting up from the floor, I limped my way through my door and into the bathroom.

The first thing I saw was Tenshi; my brother.

We may have been brothers but we couldn’t have been further apart appearance wise.

While I was a 16 year old, high school junior with a more lean build and “THE” lightskin.

He was a 24 year old, college -dark skinned- senior with an athletic build.

The only real similarity we shared, appearance wise, was the style we kept our hair -both in locs.

He had long free form dreads on the lower sections of his head, while having shorter thick locks on the upper sections.

“Morning”, I said to him as I let out a mighty yawn.

“Morning”, he replied as he spat the toothpaste out his mouth.

“Y’know I had my first lucid dream today, and I gotta say, it was one hell of a dream”, I said as I wiped the tears from my yawn.

When I opened my eyes and got a good look at him, I could’ve sworn to see what looked like the very same wings from my dream following my brother.

“I guess I’m still kinda out of it, huh?”, I whispered to myself as I rubbed my eyes in hopes of fixing my vision.

“What-”

“Nothing”, I replied without a second of hesitation.

As if out of habit I made sure to look at the mirror as I started brushing but instead of my ordinary, regular “degular”, reflection I was instead met with an image of me with those very same wings once again. This time they were behind me.

Almost immediately, without even giving myself any time to be dismayed, I rubbed my eyes with my left hand since my right was latched onto my toothbrush.

“Man, what time did I go to bed last night?”, I whispered to myself in a tone of confusion.

“I could have sworn I actually went to sleep early this time too.”

“You look disgusting”, my brother said to me as he let out a chuckle. “Try getting some actual sleep tomorrow instead of staying up all night”, was his following comment.

“All night?? I thought I went to bed early?!”

“If you call 5 am early then sure.”

“Y’know that's actually hella early in my book”, I informed with a face of accomplishment.

He whipped his face with his towel and then replied to my claim.

“It's a wonder how you even wake up in the morning… One day you're gonna end up dead with that horrible sleep schedule!”

Following that harsh and clearly untrue claim, he headed to the door leading to his room.

“Jokes this early in the morning huh?”, I asked rhetorically as I put my toothbrush back.

“Who said anything about joking?”

He faded into his dark room and while closing the bathroom door.

Almost as if it were a ritual at this point, I started posing in the mirror and pulling off my best light skin faces as the dazzling bathroom light enhanced my beauty 10 fold.

Shortly after my modeling, I made my way back to my room to finish getting ready for the hell that was school.

My room was formatted like a typical boys room.

The only things of note in my room would definitely be my bed and gaming setup, both located at alternate corners of the room.

The school uniform was mandatory, so there was no questioning what my outfit of choice was gonna be.

…

I made my way down our carpet stairs to make breakfast. At the bottom of my carpet journey you would be met with an obstacle that could only be described as the devil's work. Something so vile and disgusting I would puke if I were weak willed. Wooden floor!

The thing is, my grandmother lives downstairs and she loves to keep her old traditions. As such she refuses to add carpet to the ground. She’s clearly on some demonic substances.

I grabbed my bookbag from a couch in the living room, flopped on the sofa and started watching anime with the time I had left.

Before I knew it, a whole episode passed and it was time for me to head out. My house was at the very back of the neighborhood so simply walking to the stop sign takes about 3 minutes.

I could feel my smile getting bigger as I got closer to my stop. Of Course this isn't because of school, but because I get to see her.

Just the thought made me giddy with excitement -as it always did when we were together.

They’re supposed to be more of us in the morning, but all the other kids choose to drive to school a little later. That means it's usually just me and her. That “her” is my faithful and loving girlfriend, Alice!... Or so I wish.

In reality, I'm just one of the many guys intensely crushing on her, getting frustrated when she's friendly with any other person and dreaming of her reciprocating my feelings.

She had silk like pink hair, large beautiful pink eyes and lovely clear skin. She was of course wearing the school uniform, paired with her favorite pink bowtie.

Are Alice and I dating? Negative. But would I go to war for her? Abso-fucking-lutly.

Raising her hand head level, she waved at me and with a smile that radiated pure joy and passion as we waited for the bus.

“Hey, Akuma!”, she greeted.

I may have been wearing a blank and expressionless face but my brain was having a nuclear meltdown. Within that single span of a second I felt as if all 6 emotions within me decided to hold a council meeting. As if they were deciding the fate of the world with this gathering, they were each on the verge of extreme panic and desperation for a solution.

(Inside Akuma’s Mindspace)

Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Pride. Being my inner emotions and monologue, their appearance was the exact same as mine. They each sat together at a large table to discuss their next course of actions.

Sadness hugged his head on the table, hiding away at the cruel injustice of the world. Fear sat slouched, twiddled his thumbs and nervously looked around as he waited for someone to start the discussion.

Disgust sat with his legs crossed on the table while slightly rocking his chair.

Anger was leaning to the table, resting his head on his left hand and tapping the table with his right index finger repeatedly while wearing a face of pure rage.

Joy was sitting straight in his chair while wearing an awkward, lofty smile as he looked around, glancing at everyones nervousness.

Lastly was Pride. Being the embodiment of all my ego and arrogance, he sat as though he were a king on a throne with his eyes closed and wore a deep and ego-ful smile.

The first to say a word was joy. He asked the question that was weighing on everyone's mind.

“So what exactly are we gonna do about Miss Sunshine”, he asked, referring to Alice.

“You people are making a grand deal of nothing! The best course of action is obviously spitting in her face!”, Disgust shared.

“HELL NO!!!”, Joy and Anger screamed.

“Hasn't the go-to “good morning” always worked for us? Let's just go with that!”, Joy shared.

“The go-to is very nice and all, but we gotta switch it up some times”, Anger issued.

Just then Fear nervously and slowly raises his hand in the air as if he were a student in the middle of class.

“Finally someone smart!”, they all thought as they realized Fear had an idea.

“Yes? What is it, Fear?”, Joy asked as the whole council layed eyes on him.

“Can't we just repeat the exact greeting she gave us?”

“An absolute negative”, Anger denied, without a moment of hesitation.

“But I kind of like the idea”, the rest of them thought to themselves in a sad and crying tone.

No longer resting his head on his hand, Anger asked in a serious tone. “Just look at that smile. What do you see?”

“The sun!”, Joy replied as slammed the table.

“Something that will never be ours.”, sadness replied while keeping his head glued to the table.

“A big smile I guess!”, Fear replied in a shaking voice.

“Mine!”, Pride answered in an arrogant tone.

“Absolute garbage”, disgust shared.

Following Disgust’s answer, they all looked at him as if they planned to murder him in his sleep. All except sadness who still kept his head hugged to the table.

“The point is.. Do you want that to be ours or some random nobody’s?”

“Let’s just run away and hope we die on the road or something”, Sadness muttered as he interrupted.

Ignoring sadness’ outlandish proposition, Angry continued his claim.

“Then we should just wave back and leave it at that. If we make it seem like a big deal then we’re destined for certain failure!”.

Completely shocked at the words that just left his lips, they stood there looking at him as if he were a one in a million genius. Within all their life they never heard anyone issue a more convincing or factual claim than the one they just heard.

“Remember to show zero expression while you do”, pride added.

“Seeing as there are no objections, we will use Angry’s proposition”, Joy issued.

(Back to the real world)

Wearing a face of absolutely no expression, like it was my way of holding back all the emotions scrambling inside my head, I took her warm welcome and threw it into the dumpster. I waved gently back at her and acted as if this was just every other Monday for me.

“Can’t you be a bit more happy to see me”, she asked while chuckling.

I asked myself what that could possibly mean, but it was way too early for any of that nonsense.

Shortly after, our yellow uber arrived and was more than happy to take us to hell.

You could always tell the bus was coming since it was one of the only vehicles passing by our neighborhood that gave off a truck-like sound while it drove. As the bus stopped, it released a sound of exhaustion while it opened its doors.

While an average person would see a simple bus opening its doors for students, I saw a cerberus lowering its back so it can escort you to the underworld.

Having no real close friends on my bus, I chose to sit alone and in the back like I always do, since it felt more like “home”. Ever since entering highschool I just can’t find myself sitting anywhere but the back. People who sit in the middle are alright I guess. But people who sit in the front!?! They’re either on illegal substances or secret serial killers -maybe even both.

Alice chose to sit one seat in front of me like she usually does.

Everything about my day so far has been that of a completely average person. Just any other ordinary life you’d find. The only thing slightly strange was the excessive “Michael” and “Church” I saw while riding Cerberus. One example is how I saw “Micheal” writing all over a house we passed by. Or even when I saw “Church Monday'' on a poster we drove by. Like who goes to church on a Monday? But as I always say, different folks, different strokes. Chalking up the Micheal and Church sightings as nothing but a mixture of that dream messing with me and pure coincidence, I strolled on with my ordinary day.

By the time I blinked, the day had almost vanished and it was now ringing the last bell for dismissal. School was now dismissed and that meant it was time for the kids to head home. The day had been a success, but there were still plenty of things left undone before I could call this mission complete; namely because we still had 4 more days left before temporary freedom.

Like a slave to the system, I repeated the same routine and headed to the same prison for the rest of the week. This wasn't anything new though, I mean I was in 11th grade so this was just the norm and had been for my 11 school years. It was the same old typical life with the same old mundane events. All except one that is. The sightings of “Micheal” and “church” that I chalked up as coincidences and exhaustion from a dream went on for the whole week. How can a dream affect someone even 4 days after occurring? It’s an understatement to say it was driving. Me. MAD!

It was Sunday morning and at this point I had already reached my wits end here. Even if it was just some stupid dream I was determined to get my brother,Tenshi, to drive me over to that stupid church. Opening the web browser on my phone, I searched for “Church of Michael” and found that it was only 15 minutes away from our house. Realizing what exactly I’m doing I started thinking to myself. “Bro what am I doing? Once I get to this church then what?”

Great questions they were but I quickly shut off all reason and decided to ask my brother for a ride.

Bursting through his room door -because who really needs privacy- I asked him for a ride to the church.

“Tenshi, can you take me to church?”, I asked in a straightforward tone.

“...Why?” was his reply with a strong look of confusion covering his face.

(If I explained it then you would call me crazy.)

My brother immediately burst out into an uncontrollable laughter, his laughter could have probably been heard throughout the whole neighborhood.

“HAHAHAH! Have you finally decided to confess all your sins? Convert after all you’ve done?” Tenshin asked in a mocking tone while chuckling.

Standing there just watching him wheezing at me I was almost tempted to just turn around and forget that I even asked. I mean what was I supposed to do? Tell him it’s because I keep seeing phrases from a dream? Absolutely out of the question.

“I’m not wasting my time with any of that”, he continued as he went back on his phone.

Then almost instantly, he had a change of heart.

“Wait, never mind, let's go!”

My brother was prone to have random mood changes all the time and would sometimes do a full U- turn we’re his decisions are concerned, but being the person I am I was still curious as to why he so suddenly changed his mind.

“Why the quick change of heart”, I asked?

“Well if you wanna convert, then I guess it is my duty to help with it… But more than that, I'm curious about what'll happen”, he continued with a big evil looking grin on his face.

Of course I had no intentions of converting, but I had gotten my desired answer from him and I wasn’t gonna just throw it away.

“Whatever floats your boat” I replied as I walked out his room to get ready for the drive.

“Send the address!”, he screamed in hopes that I would hear it while outside his room.

We hopped in the car and made our way to the “Church of Michael”, just like the person in my dream told me to. Arriving at the church I wasn’t surprised to see that Tenshi parked the car crookedly. It was an everyday thing so I paid it no mind and we headed to the entrance.

The doors opened automatically as if it were welcoming us home. Even though none of us have ever been to this church we instantly, as if on instinct, took a right, entered the lobby and took a seat while we waited for a pastor to meet with us. Surely enough a pastor that goes by the name of “Pastor John”, came to greet us.

Pastor John’s appearance was that of a tall, white adult man that seemed to be in his late 30’s. Being a pastor of the Church of Michael, he was of course wearing their uniform. The uniform was a typical white, clergy cassock with an extensive red cross at the very center.

“Mr.Akuma and Mr.Tenshi?”, the pastor asked to clarify his assumptions.

“Yeah?...How did you know our names?”, my brother and I syncfully asked while confused.

“Why the pope has been expecting you all week of course. Now please, come right this way.”

Following these words, the pastor returned to the back from where he came.

My brother and I side eyed each other with a look that said “this is definitely sketchy”. Even so, we both got up and out of the chairs and followed the Pastor. He escorted us down a hallway, passing all other doors as he headed for the single door at the end of the path.

“Did you call ahead and make reservations?”Tenshi asked with confusion in his voice.

“Negative”, I answered.

(Definitely sketchy), we both thought to ourselves once again.

Arriving at the wooden door at the end of the hallway, the Pastor knocked twice in hopes of grabbing someone's attention.

KNOCK KNOCK !!!

“YES??”, an old voice from the room shouted.

“I’ve brought the boys here, Pope Finral!”

“PLEASE, LET THEM IN!!!”, the same voice shouted from the room.

I'm honestly amazed someone so old could scream that loud.

Immediately after hearing those words, the pastor opened the door for us.

Tenshi was the first to enter and I was right after him. The pastor closed the door behind me and stayed outside, as if he were a bouncer, guarding the biggest party in town.

The room was formatted like a vip casino expense. The first thing you would notice was the expensive white marble table surrounded by red cushion single chairs. The next thing you would probably notice is the exotic pool tables in the back. Even the pope was praiseworthy.

I expected him to look like any short, white, wrinkling geezer and covered head to toe in a white and gold clergy vestment. But he was actually quite tall, white short hair paired with whitish gray facial hair and an all white robe. I was still correct about the wrinkly part though.

By the time you took all that in you would realize the bright lamp that hung from the ceiling. Everything in this room looked expensive. Everything except the wooden walk cane he had resting on the left side of his chair.

If you're this loaded, then why a wooden cane? What a weirdo, I thought to myself.

“I knew the pope was banking, but this?”, my brother let out as he examined the room from left to right.

“Good evening, boys!”, the pope greeted us while holding an intense and passionate smile.

I couldn’t tell if he was genuinely happy to see us or if he was delighted to see us shocked at his riches. Probably the ladder.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room made a complete shift. The pope leaned forward and his expression flipped to one of extreme seriousness.

“Please take a seat and listen closely boys, what I am about to tell you is of the highest importance”, he stated.

I glanced over to Tenshi who was standing on my left. He looked as if he was gonna walk out of the room at any moment.

This being my idea I pat my hand on his back as a way of saying “c’mon let’s just listen to what he wants.”

We both sat at the chairs at the very end of the table on the complete opposite side of the pope. Both my brother and I were completely silent and we didn’t utter a single word.

What the pope proceeded to say sounded so crazy that I was already thinking of ways to fight him off and run out the door if it came to that.

“Akuma! You have already met with “Michael”! Correct? The pope asked as he gazed into my eyes.

For an instant, my face -previously dead expressionless- jumped into that of pure confusion. I wondered if he was talking about the angel guy in my dream.

(Is he talking about the dream? No he couldn’t be! I mean how could he know something like that? Besides I don't even know if his name was Micheal for sure!)

I dismissed all thoughts and chalked it up as some wild guess.

“We do not have time to go over everything at this moment, but there is a tale I must tell you”, the pope continued.

As Tenshi and I sat there in complete silence, the pope went on.

“Though you only see it in stories and legends, long ago this world that we live in was filled with people who held the power to do amazing things. They could harden their bodies to be as tough as steel, command strength that could level a city or even reach speeds impossible for the common man. During those days, each and every human had access to a power source known as Hoshi”.

Pausing for a brief moment, he collected his breath and began to share even more.

“At its core, Hoshi is the ability to interact with the raw energy within your body. Whether that be spirit energy or even physical energy, nothing is beyond your limit. One of the greatest wielders of Hoshi this world has ever birthed was someone you may already be familiar with. Moses. Quite the genius of his time, he was able to use hoshi from outside sources and split the sea.”

“Unfortunately, the ability to interact with this energy was sealed away from mortals. As a result, the human race as a whole lost all memory and belief of Hoshi as the centuries passed by. All that remains are legends and folklore of its existence.

Once again he paused and took a short breath.

“Losing their only way of defending themselves, the Dark Ages came to be. Humans were devoured, killed, enslaved, hunted for sport and were on the verge of complete annihilation. That is, until a group of elder spirits offered aid to mankind. These spirits are what govern the equilibrium and balance of the universe”.

A short moment of silence awoke after he dropped that story.

He grabbed the wooden staff he had resting on his chair, rose out of his chair and pointed his cane at Tenshi’s direction.

“I trust Micheal has already released your seals, Akuma! So I myself shall release your seal, Tenshi! It would take quite a while to do it cleanly, so I shall have to rush a bit.”

I had half a mind to walk out that very moment, but to be honest I was kinda interested in what this crackhead would do next. So far I was doing my best to hold my laughter.

He continued to hold his wooden cane in Tenshi’s direction and began chanting some sort of poem.

“Through fire and despair, thou are ensnared

Through chains and bondage, thou are poundage

Through strain and pain, thou shall attain

Now flow free for this I have claim”

My brother and I burst into uncontrollable laughter. This whole time, we listened as the pope spat his story of fable, in complete silence, but we couldn’t hold it in anymore. Our dam had finally received more than it could hold and we exploded.

“Yeah it’s time to get the hell out of here”, Tenshi said with tears in his eyes.

At that point I was also wheezing while I made my way to the door.

As if the pope was trying to convince us to listen to even more fables, he screamed at us.

“WAIT!!! THERE IS MORE YOU NEED TO HEAR!!!...”

“...THEY ARE COMING FOR YOU!!”, He exclaimed.

“PLEASE WAIT!!!”

Seeing that we definitely weren't gonna come back, he hurried out of his chair to chase after us.

How the hell is an old man so damn nimble and agile?

Thinking our lives were probably in danger, we did what any sane person should in such a situation. We booked it.

Darting past the pastor who was keeping a lookout, we sprinted down the hallway, past the lobby and out the door.

Our sole mission was to reach the car, and we maneuvered past anyone or anything in our way to do it.

We didn't even take so much as a glance behind us, the only thing we were thinking of was getting away from this cult of deranged lunatics.