[Redwoods, Darrilyn, Piasu, Ryomania, May 6th, Tuesday, 11:13 PM, 2025]
Normand's transformation began reversing on itself, his body shrinking, his wounds becoming more apparent. He became a battered boy in the middle of a battlefield.
I slowly regained consciousness as he shrunk, rolling off of him and onto the cracked ground beneath us. The forest around us was a wasteland — trees reduced to splinters, craters gouged into the earth, and the air thick with the stench of ozone and decay. Only a few stubborn trees remained, their burnt and dead branches resembling skeletal hands.
I glanced back toward what was once my home. The sun wasn't shining, but my eyes drew to the fields anyway. Despite my overall numb state after all I had been through, it made me feel a little sad. The house was obliterated, pieces of it strewn all across the forest, but the backyard somehow remained untouched. Keito's grave stood unharmed amid the chaos.
"What have we done...?" I asked as I struggled to stand.
I staggered to my feet, my vision blurry and unfocused. I felt weak from my earlier attack and utterly exhausted. My pants were torn, my arms littered with cuts that throbbed in time with my heartbeat. The zombie disease did not affect me, even after an hour.
The silence was deafening. No zombie groans, no squelching of blood — just the occasional crackle of dying green embers.
"It's... over?" My voice sounded foreign, hollow.
Cathy hovered down into the crater, alongside a sliding Jack. Her gaze darted from me to Normand's limp form, her violet aura shining in the night.
Raijin ran down into the crater, appearing behind us. His eyes were tense and he looked uneasy.
"Oh…" Still ready to fight despite his injured leg, he had not realized it at the time, but Flow had kept him running, quite literally. "Get up, Zombie. The Boss doesn't pay us to nap. We can still win..." He locked eyes with me, walking up to Normand's body.
He shook Normand roughly by his shoulders, but the boy didn't stir.
Cathy's forcefield flared, repelling Raijin's hand with a crackle of energy.
"Don't. Touch. Him." Her voice was like ice.
Raijin sneered but backed away, his gaze darting to and fro.
I stepped forward, my boots crunching on debris.
"The battle's over, Cathy. No need to fight anymore."
She didn't look at me. Her eyes were locked on Normand's face, his green and rotten skin streaked with blood and tears. For a moment, I thought she'd lash out — her aura pulsed violently — but then she sagged, floating down to kneel beside him.
Jack nudged my shoulder with his left arm.
"Yo, bro. What's the play here? Do we... bury him? Call the cops? Order pizza? Too soon?"
Cathy shot him a glance that could freeze blood.
"Just trying to lighten the mood..." he said, shrinking back. He stood a few paces behind me, his usual swagger muted. The leather jacket was singed, one of his three ponytails unraveled. He tied it back up quickly, realizing it had unraveled as he looked at Raijin, who turned away from us.
"We don't bury him. We honor him."
Raijin snorted, crossing his arms.
"Sentimental trash. I'm not letting you bury one of our elementals!" He stepped forward, his arms dropping to his sides.
"Shut up." Cathy raised her right hand and flicked her wrist, slamming him down into the ground with gravity, the earth collapsing under Raijin's feet. "You don't get to speak after what you've done. Not here. Not now. Not ever."
Normand stirred, a weak cough rattling his chest as he sensed the vibrations of gravity. His eyes fluttered open, landing on Cathy.
"S-Sis...? I'm... I'm sorry. They... I had to... had to—" His voice broke, tears cutting tracks through the grime and blood on his face.
Cathy reached for him, her forcefield flickering as her fingers tried brushing his cheek.
"No… I'm the one who's sorry. I should've been there. Should've protected you..."
Raijin quickly got up, clutching his injured leg and muttering curses under his breath.
"It's okay. It's too late for any of that now. Promise me... stop Dad. Find Yoshio. Don't let The Boss win. Don't let him control you or anyone else... Promise...?" His hand trembled, reaching for hers.
She grabbed it with her gravity, squeezing as tightly as she could. He didn't mind the pain.
"I promise. I'll bring Yoshio home. Dad will pay."
Normand's lips twitched — a ghost of a smile.
"Ha... ha... It's so ironic. In the end... I was The King of Nothing... because I can't even have you anymore, Cathy... I love—"
Normand raised a trembling hand to touch her in a final, loving gesture. Then, his body went limp, his eyes closing as he slipped into the eternal slumber of death.
Cathy froze, staring down at him as her tears began to fall faster. Then, in an instant, her grief exploded into raw fury. The ground trembled as nearby gravity flipped. Trees, rocks, and debris began floating into the air, drawn upwards.
I stepped forward again. Her aura began flickering. My hand reached out and made contact with her shoulder.
"It's okay... What's important is that you had closure. It doesn't matter what happened before, what is happening, or will happen. What matters is that you two reached out together. And he loved you."
The words registered in her mind, echoing. My hand went through her aura, touching her shoulder.
"WHY?!" she yelled in frustration.
The chaos around us fell back to the ground as her forcefield flickered out. She turned toward me, her tear-streaked face full of anguish, before burying her head in her hands and breaking down completely.
Raijin watched silently, his gaze heavy.
"Goodbye, Zombie..."
Suddenly, Normand's body stiffened, a sickly green light erupting from his chest — his Divinity — seeped out of his corpse. It was disgusting to watch. The glowing prism of his soul visibly dripped with a green glowing substance. Worthy indeed of being called 'Zombie'.
"Whoa... is that a Holiness? More like an un-holiness, ba-dum-tss... T-too soon? Sorry..." Jack muttered.
"It's not a Holiness, it's a Divinity! Shit. I forgot about this... This isn't safe… Is it… No, it can't be…" Raijin looked around frantically, trying to calculate something.
Veins of green corruption snaked across the prism's surface. Raijin snarled and turned to face us again, getting into a runner's pose.
"Damn it, I forgot! Nobody else alive is currently worthy to be 'Zombie'! So the Divinity won't be going anywhere else—"
He vanished in a blur of white lightning, abandoning Normand's corpse.
I realized what was about to happen.
"MOVE!" I stretched out my hands, rainbow soap-vines grabbing Jack and Cathy, pulling them close.
I then slammed my palms into the ground. Another giant bouncy rose formed, catapulting us backwards into the air. The prism shuddered, then exploded in a flash of green light, sending trees and other debris our way, along with remnants of the now nonexistent cop car.
Cathy grabbed Jack and me as we flew through the sky, her powers cocooning us, holding the debris that flew at us close and forming a shield. The shockwave ripped through the forest, making the crater in the center even bigger, fully destroying the entire forest.
When the dust settled, a 25 km² crater stretched before us, its edges oozing green sludge. Rotten, sickly green glowing hands clawed at the air from the soil, sprouting up out of it.
Cathy broke our fall with her forcefield as we landed in the remains of my house and in a clearing in the wheat field.
"Damn it! Damn it... Normand... I'll never get to hug you again. We didn't even get to bury him! Or honor him! Fuck this place! Agh!" She lashed out, raw and broken, throwing back all of the debris towards the forest. The sickly glowing hands swarmed around the pile of rocks. Upon touching them, they melted into that same glowing green ooze.
Cathy hovered above us, her aura dimming to a faint purple glow but still active around her skin like a thin layer of armor. Something was happening to her ability.
"We gotta bail. My place — west side. Now," Jack whispered into my ear, cautiously looking around, still smirking.
"Your house? Okay... Where is the west side exactly...?"
"Ah... well, about that... It's in the western part of the city. You know, where the villas are."
"Right, you're rich, huh? Should've figured... Anyway, what's the fastest way to get there?"
Cathy hovered down in front of us, looking defeated.
"Fly. I'll take you both — I don't care if anyone sees anymore."
Before either of us could respond, Cathy raised her hand. I felt the familiar sensation of being wrapped in her hold as we ascended into the sky. The ground vanished beneath us, and the wind rushed past as we hurtled toward the city.
What would've been a three-hour drive in Dad's old sedan took less than ten minutes with Cathy. We quickly passed the countryside and entered Havok. Cathy's gravity grip was relentless, the city below a blur of lights and shadows. Wind screamed in my ears, and my stomach lurched as we banked sharply around skyscrapers. Jack whooped, his fear drowned by adrenaline.
"Woo! Faster, Cathy! I wanna break the sound barrier!"
I felt her grip slipping from around Jack. I reached over to grab hold of his arm.
"You're pushing it!"
He looked up at us, rubbing his neck, smiling sheepishly.
"Right. Sorry."
We landed on the rooftop of a corporate building. Jack and I were gasping for air. Cathy slowly curled up into a ball, resting her head against the parapet.
"Look over yonder! That's the one — the big white mansion with the huge lawn!" Jack pointed.
I peered down the edge of the building. A sharp sudden pain shot through me. I clutched my chest and winced. A few ribs were broken in the battle with Normand, and I'd only just noticed — the adrenaline did a good job at masking the pain.
The city stretched out before us, glittering with lights. It was beautiful. Ahead, where Jack was pointing, I saw the mansion alongside all the other villas.
"Hey... I've been meaning to ask, but how large is this city anyway?"
Jack looked back at me and stepped closer.
"Well, Havok is split into three sectors. The suburbs to the west, where all the rich, snobby people live, like me! The suburbs are on that large hill there, it snakes down into Havok, my mansion being the third from the top of it. See?" He once again pointed towards it.
"I see... So what about the city?"
"Yeah, the commonplace, the city itself, where people live in apartment buildings and such. Cathy lives in an apartment on the slightly... tough side of town? I don't want to call it a ghetto, but y'know. It leads into the next district." Cathy shot him a glance but didn't say anything.
"You should cut the jokes out... You do realize what we just went through today, right?"
"Yeah… There's the industrial district, which is where our school was and usually a bunch of factories, stores and other companies and buildings are. That's where the Ariston Industries center sits. Actually, I think we're on it." He peered down the edge of the building again, motioning for me to look.
I also looked down. Indeed, the giant 'A' of their logo was on the side of the building.
I then turned to glance at Cathy. Her face was buried in her arms.
"Cathy... can you — look, we have to at least get to safety first. Then, if you want to talk, we'll talk, okay? Or you can rest. Whatever you want."
She didn't reply, didn't even look at me. She stood up and grabbed us again and launched into the air, carrying us over to Jack's house.
We hit the front lawn with a dull thud, her forcefield softening the impact. The ground cracked beneath it, though, leaving a noticeable mark. Destroying the lawn grass.
Jack's mansion sprawled ahead — a white marble monstrosity flanked by manicured gardens and a fountain spewing crystalline water.
"You actually live here? How many bathrooms does this place have? Ten? Twenty?"
"Dunno. Stopped counting after the third hot tub."
Cathy collapsed suddenly, her knees buckling. Her aura pushed her up against the ground.
"Hey — stay with us. Just a little further."
She didn't respond, her eyes vacant. She just drifted ahead.
"My sister's gonna notice this mess, you know... Anyway, come on in. I'm sure the maid won't mind."
The front doors swung open, revealing the foyer. It was a temple to excess — gold-leaf ceilings, a chandelier dripping with diamonds, and a staircase wide enough to march an army. A maid with short brown hair split horizontally, the lower half of her hair was purple, stood by the front door, her uniform crisp, her smile practiced. She also had purple eyes.
Polished marble floors, chandeliers, ornate furniture — it was like stepping into another world. One I was a stranger in.
"Welcome home, Master Jack — oh! Are these your friends? Why are you floating — never mind that... Should I prepare a bath for you or inform Mistress Erika of your return?" she asked sweetly as she glanced between us, clearly excited but trying to remain professional.
"Guys, meet Amelia. The head maid around here. Uh... yeah, guest rooms, and keep Erika off my back, she isn't home, right? Oh, and maybe... burn the security footage from tonight? Pretty please? Or uh... fix the lawn? Pretty please."
Amelia's smile didn't waver.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, honored guests... I am Amelia Orwell, the head maid of this fine estate. Follow me to your rooms, if you will."
I was truly amazed by this place. It was a massive contrast to my little house in the middle of the countryside. I shook her hand and smiled kindly back at her, despite the bruises and blood stains.
"Nice to meet you, Amelia. I'm James, and this is Cathy. She's... had a rough day and could really use a bubble bath."
Cathy glanced at me, her eyes still clouded with frustration and sadness, but she didn't say a word. Just groaned and flipped over mid-air on her back.
Amelia nodded and led us through the house. It felt like a gilded labyrinth.
"This place is... something."
"Dad's a 'collector' apparently. Buys art, cars, islands, and whatever else he wants, and he sometimes sends us a lot of stuff. The best part is we have a lot of Coco-Cola! We'll... we'll talk about that one tomorrow." His tone was light, but his knuckles whitened around the stair rail. He didn't like talking about his family, that's for sure.
After a few more minutes of walking, Amelia stopped in the middle of a hallway upstairs. We were on the second floor.
"Well, these rooms are vacant and will be your new temporary rooms. I hope you enjoy staying here! Goodnight!" She wandered off, humming to herself without a further word to us.
"Guess that's it then... We finally escaped... I'll take the one on the right," I said, grabbing the door handle.
"I'm going to mine, it's legit just down the hall."
"Really?"
"Funny coincidence, huh? Tomorrow I'll show ya all my cool figurines! Night, bro. Cathy."
Cathy shot him another glance as she leaned against the wall, being pushed back by her aura.
I reached for the bedroom door on the right but stopped, looking at her.
"Cathy... Are you sure you're okay?"
Cathy glanced away to the other end of the hallway before responding.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Her voice cracked again, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Goodnight then."
I opened the door to my new room and went in, gently closing it behind me.
My room was a palace in itself — canopied bed, silky white sheets, a balcony overlooking the city. I collapsed onto the mattress, the weight of the day crushing me. The mattress was so soft it felt like I was sinking into a cloud. For a moment, I just stared at the ceiling, trying to process everything. The destruction of my memories, my family, my school, my house, my life.
Suddenly, though, there was a knock at the door.
Cathy hovered in the doorway, arms crossed and her eyes red-rimmed.
"Can't sleep... Actually."
I sat up and scooted over. She hesitated, then hovered on the bed beside me.
"Talk. Or don't. Up to you."
She stared at her hands, trembling.
"After Mom died, from her illness... Dad changed. Started bringing 'work' home. Men in suits, whispers about 'The Syndicate'… I've been going through it all in my head. It only just started making sense. I didn't know that much at the time, but I knew he was up to no good. Normand... he was always fragile. I should've seen it. Should've—"
"Stop. You're not responsible for his choices."
She looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time. Her eyes gave me a quick once-over before turning to look back to the floor.
"And you? Why'd you come back? What... What really happened in Taured? Why here? Why now?"
The question hung in the air. My gaze drifted to the window.
"Because... I was told to come here. I woke up frozen in ice in the middle of a destroyed city with corpses everywhere. I had found a note in my pocket that said Jasmine was my friend and to head South. So I did. Ryomania is my home, I guess... I don't know what happened in Taured, but I remember my name… and how I looked five years ago. Not that it helps. And so I just... walked home. But that doesn't matter now. After all I've seen and experienced — I mean, can you believe the fact that I still can't feel... But I still have to fight? Does that make sense?"
Cathy was speechless, her gaze also drifting towards the window.
Everything had changed. And not just the world around me — I had changed, too. I felt more confident now, more sure of myself. I was still missing memories and some of my emotions, but I was feeling better. I had to be stronger. There was no other choice. It was either adapt or die.
Tears streamed down my face as the weight of it all crashed down. So many people had died. Teachers. Classmates. Neighbors. All gone. And we got away. Like criminals.
Cathy immediately turned to me as she heard a sob. She extended a hand towards me to wipe the tears from my face. Instead, her aura repelled me, and we locked eyes for a brief moment.
"Sorry... It's just... so many people died because of us... Because of me. They keep saying they want me, why me? I don't know..."
Her breath hitched for a moment. She wrapped her arms around me, trying to hug me despite her aura repelling the both of us.
"Fuck... I'm sorry, James. I guess we both have issues... Only mine is purple and annoying."
I wiped the tears from my eyes and smirked.
"It's okay, I'm fine... We'll be okay. Are you feeling any better?"
She hovered closer onto the bed, pushing me into the mattress almost, stretching and gazing into the very luxurious marble-tinted mirror in the room. I met her gaze through it.
"Yeah, I got to see your quiet ass cry, so that's bloody awesome." She chuckled wetly and pulled back from the hug, wiping her eyes with her hands.
"Good... I'm happy for you."
We both stood up at the same time. I walked her to the door.
"Thanks, James. You're actually not that much of a dumbass. Compared to Jack at least."
I smiled and leaned against the doorframe.
"Goodnight, Cathy. I'll see you tomorrow."
She glanced back at me with a smirk as she hovered down the hallway, arms dropping to her sides as she opened her door with a flick of the wrist and entered her room. I saw a glance of a frown as she did.
I don't think she was okay with all of this either. At least not yet.
"It wasn't our fault, huh...? The Boss had sent those people after us... It was on him. He was the one who deserved to pay for all of this. Not—" I muttered to myself as I walked back over to the bed and sat down. "Not Cathy. Not Jack. Not me..."
I laid back onto the bed, hands behind my head on the pillow as I looked up at the ceiling.
"I don't want to ever see Cathy cry again."
The resolution burned in my chest alongside the pain and broken ribs. At least that was something I could hold onto, something I could fight for.
Eventually, exhaustion won out. I shut my eyes. My thoughts blurred, and I drifted off into restless sleep. One thing was clear — my life had changed forever.
And in the worst way possible, I was happy.
My one goal now was to defeat "The Boss."
[End of Arc 1 - Redwoods]
———
Your heart was warm within me, like red burning fire.But the woods were colder than the fire, they overtook it quickly,The fire turned a sickly color, and fell down beneath me,And I stood still in the red woods, my soul, rotting green.