A man named Aldric, with odd-numbered freckles on his left cheek and messy brown hair, stood at 198 cm on a bridge made of yellowed stone.
He leaned on the railing and extended his head over the bars to watch the raging river below. A few bloody bodies floated past, carried by the current.
Aldric turned away after seeing the thirteenth, then the fourteenth and fifteenth bodies drift by. He looked down at his aristocratic brown-and-white clothes, closed his eyes, clamped his hands together, and prayed in a deep, coarse voice.
"Oh great mysterious bei… God, unknown to worlds and unchained in dreams, please have mercy on my poor soul as I take my last breath. Please, oh please, great unknown… God? Let me experience a dream that is present and truly of my own."
As he wondered whether to end his prayer or continue, he opened his eyes saw and a man sitting on a dark brown sofa. The man bit his fingernails anxiously and occasionally checked the time on a flat device made of glass.
Aldric continued watching the man through a hole in the ceiling, large enough to fit the giant anxious figure's head. The man glanced repeatedly at another flat device that looked like thick glass surrounded by shiny black material. It was turned off. He then scanned each corner of the room.
With a melancholic sigh, Aldric muttered, "I suppose it was too much to ask. But what… who… why is it?"
As Aldric questioned himself, the phrase "why is he?" felt right and complete, despite his knowledge of linguistics challenging it.
He answered himself regardless.
He must be God. Surely, perhaps an ignorant one. Some of my family went mad trying to test His existence, and my secretive sources chased me to that Fallen City simply because I introduced an unknown god.
Two rats, each twice the size of Aldric, fought and shrieked behind him. The anxious god, for the first time in many dreams, saw Aldric. His vision darkened, and so did the God's , he saw the god's face transform to resemble his own.
Feeling cold air brush against his exposed hands, Andreas Neo Wagner opened his eyes.
A bloody river stretched before him, and lodged within it was the head of a massive fish with protruding, needle-like teeth.
Andreas jumped back in horror and found himself standing in the middle of the bridge. His heart beat faster than it had when he set anxiously and saw the tiny lookalike of himself through the hole in the ceiling. He placed his right hand on his chest and took deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
Where am I? What was that fish? And that tiny lookalike of me?
He straightened his back and scanned his surroundings. The sun was setting over a strange city whose architecture reminded him of England, perhaps London.
He chuckled weakly, until his gaze landed on a four-armed humanoid creature with dark blue skin and the terrifying fish head he had seen moments ago.
Andreas forced his usual smile, though disgust twisted his expression. Just as the creature leapt from the railing where Aldric had been praying, Andreas ran with all the strength he could muster. The fish creature easily pounced in front of him, forcing Andreas to halt, then lunged at him again.
***
Far in the distance, a beautiful woman with black hair neatly tied into a bun stood over a man's rotten corpse. She withdrew her rapier from his chest. The body writhed and growled for a few moments before going limp, blue smoke seeping from it as it finally stilled.
She wore garments that spoke of discipline as much as refinement. A high-collared pale cream blouse hugged her torso, its smooth, structured fabric rising stiffly at the neck as if guarding her thoughts. The sleeves swelled slightly at the shoulders before narrowing along her arms, their careful tailoring drawing attention to a waist bound firmly by a dark sash.
Below it fell a somber black skirt, modest and cut for movement rather than display. It swayed faintly around her legs, stopping short of her calves and revealing dark stockings and sensible shoes worn thin by use.
She held a slender blade in one hand, its narrow length resting downward like a restrained threat, steel obedient to her grip. In the other hand hung a fencing mask, its wire face turned inward, as if awaiting the moment it would be raised again.
The woman looked up at the sky. A pale golden comet rose just as the sun fully set, and the streets of the Fallen City were swallowed by night.
She exhaled slowly several times, then began walking in the general direction from which the golden comet had risen.
After an hour, she sensed a terrible omen moving toward her, whether walking or running she could not tell. She smiled and let out an almost inaudible chuckle, continuing toward it.
"Hello, Dongmei," said another beauty, her beastly golden eyes gleaming. Black wings stretched behind her, nearly blending into the darkness. She wore men's clothing, a simple white shirt, brown pants, and no shoes.
Dongmei turned and looked up, meeting those unforgettable golden eyes and a cheerful smile that did not belong to any woman she knew.
"Ah, Kihoko. Don't scare me like that," Dongmei said with a smirk.
"Yes, I will keep that in mind," Kihoko replied dismissively. "But is there a reason you are going this way?"
"Isn't it obvious? The omen seems interesting."
"Of course it is interesting to you. But that omen is Aldric You know? it's best to keep your distance. You might catch some of his madness," Kihoko said, laughing cheekily.
Dongmei's eyes widened, and she shivered slightly.
That Aldric… how can he produce so much spirituality? Is she lying to me? No. She wouldn't, at least not now. It's in our contract, after all.
Dongmei sighed, walked forward, then turned left into the first alley she found.
"Then I suppose I should get anarmor beast as soon as possible."