Carla and Aoto arrived at the shooting range's lobby. The place was mostly used for airsoft guns, but if the pellets were plastic, the plan for the time being could simply dip them in the melted coins.That said, anybody with a brain would know fast the plastic would melt as a reaction. They'd have to hope this range had actual weapons instead.
Though, this wasn't fully why the two had arrived at the building. If the shooting range was really entirely empty, it was the perfect area to try and test Carla on her ability to fight.
Carla looked around the room, it was quite spacious, like a children's theater. The lobby was lined with plastic and wooden chairs, padded wood floors, and a chandelier that was maybe a little too low for Aoto's taste. Carla had seen him bump his head against it just a few times. Did he get taller?
The room seemed to grow larger, even as they were confined in this decorated box, blocked by nothing but a glass door and their imagination, Carla could feel her—touch–escaping him. Like Aoto felt further than before, was this the gap that strong people usually faced?
No, Aoto wasn't that strong—not yet, at least. She didn't think he was weak, far from it, he was just…easily influenced. Yeah.
Aoto on the other hand, had also been thinking of Carla, but perhaps not in the same manner. He felt a familiar squeeze in his chest, he couldn't even bring himself to look in her general direction at the moment. It always felt hotter, a heat that had nothing to do with fond feelings in his heart.
No–No it felt–looked–like flames licking the walls. Gripping and tearing down the buildings to reveal the firm foundations, crumbling at the all destructive hands of the ever growing flames. That was exactly what he saw back then.
A girl no younger than himself at the time had been standing amongst tall flames, breathing in the black smoke and surrounded by the bodies of residents. She didn't have many facial features, no one in his memory, but her eyes were visible–more than that they'd been glaring directly at him.
Aoto swallowed hard, the aura from Carla, who hadn't even begun to go on guard, had seemed to swallow him whole like a concussion to a memory, or a hawk to a worm. The room didn't even look like a lobby anymore, it was like Aoto stepped into Hade's dreamscape.
It was a familiar fear that he knew all too well. The one he followed back at the small town he grew up in, one that caused him to stick to Carla like a suction cup, and one that was rooted in his mind as an anchor since forever.
Aoto felt smaller, like a mouse against a lion. It felt so strange to look Carla in the eyes again, in this context at least. Just how long had it been since Aoto had seen Carla fight? It would've had to be a few years at the least–maybe seven? Ten?
Of course, he wasn't sure of it. Aoto could only remember the scene itself–the scene, and of course the complete helplessness he felt in the moment.
Aoto wouldn't react the same now, though. He was testing her, right? There was no reason to be scared. If only he knew how to activate his abilities as suddenly as he'd done back in the desert. The sight of dragon scales had surprised him before–it'd surprise anybody–but he wanted to feel them again.
The feeling of each layer, all hardening on impact to stop a single—or maybe even a dozen attacks from harming him? Who wouldn't feel flattered and want more?
Though, as flattered as anybody would be, Aoto wasn't naive enough to throw around the ability without fear of drawbacks, right? I mean, god's were always somewhat childish in his eyes. In Greek mythology, there were all kinds of easily angered babies up there.
Alas, if he was dealing with a Greek mythology type of situation, he'd obviously have to sacrifice something, right? So what was being sacrificed for all of his blessings?
Nothing was missing from his life–not yet at least–would all of it just be on his tab? What would happen if he bothered to ask? Would he need to sacrifice then?
Just why the hell could he even contact this guy anyway? How many more 'Gods' were out there that he could contact?
If any of his possible theories were true, it'd be a Pandora's box of bullshit he couldn't possibly wrap his head around. As a drunk man once told him: it was better to back out now than to black out later.
Aoto's eyes shot back down, yeah, he wasn't ready to tango with that truth yet. This was a test for her, not him. He had no reason to be afraid. This wasn't something he could just spend forever thinking about. Honestly, the silence between the two was killing him as well, was it always this awkward between him and Carla?
"Hey—"
"Lets cut to the chase, Aoto." Carla sighed before Aoto could clarify his thoughts. It was like she could read him like a newspaper that flung open mid-throw. Aoto lacked any real position of power here, that was established early in their lives. He was just a firefly to lead her through the cave, now that the cave was gone, Aoto stayed in a jar, following along with what little air he had.
That's how he felt at least, but he did fly into that jar willingly. There hadn't been a chance in the world that he would run away, lest he wanted a slash to the back and his blood on the ground. He didn't find Carla a vicious girl, but his fear navigated differently.
Carla raised her fist in a sort of boxing position, her dominant foot raised on its toes as the hind-leg followed, she was lighter on her feet than most people, but she's never really sparred before?
"So–so this–is this like–ugh! Just tell me when to go! I won't be pulling punches! Or whatever…" Carla raised her hand to her mouth as she tried to hide the very visible flush on her face, though the blush on her ears paid no help to the situation.
Carla was trying to be…cliche? It was actually funny, to the point where Aoto had to stifle a laugh.
"Okay, okay, Let's get started." Aoto cleared his throat, his eyes closing and opening back to reveal a sharper, perhaps even a mentor-like gaze. "Lets begin with some ground rules. One , the first to get the other on the ground will win, Two, there will be no scratching, biting, or hair pulling in the match, I don't think any of us would want to deal with the pain later…"
"Finally, the terms are, if you win you'll be able to fight sword in hand for as long as we live, however, losing will resort to you holding to your promise and never holding a blade to battle ever again. Deal?" Aoto extended his hand out, prompting Carla to practically skip over to take his hand with a coquettish smile.
"Deal, you know, you could never knock me down before~! You might as well make me my sword right away, Birdie!" Carla lifted her hand under her chin, laughing like some arrogant rich lady with a french poodle and a cane as she played.
Aoto, of course, shot back by spinning her around with the hand he had in hers, an almost formal gesture that got another giggle from Carla. This really would be no sweat, wouldn't it? It was a friendly brawl.
Carla gently pushed off and stepped back with gentle patter, getting into more of a dancing stance than her stiff fighting one. She wouldn't hurt him too bad, just flip him on his ass a little!
Aoto followed suit, blinking a little before opening his eyes to a palm positioned toward his face, she was so silent, he couldn't even count down. As the realization set in, a loud smack was heard as Carla pushed her palm into his nose, dropping down to sweep his legs. However as Aoto recovered quickly from the disorienting attack, he put enough strength into his legs to steady himself, making the sweep essentially useless as Aoto went to stomp on her leg.
Carla pressed her feet against Aoto's ankle, kicking off and sliding across the floors before planting her feet and flinging herself upward, almost gracefully landing on her feet.
"Woah..would you look at that? You have a bunch more leg strength than last time! When did you work out more than your arms?" Carla mimed a flex, her bicep bulging to show muscle that was more attractive than Aoto would've liked to admit.
He let out a soft huff, his eyes narrowed as he had been scanning her like some sort of identification AI, this was an awfully suspicious pace Carla was going at, he didn't feel any thrill from her attacks. "You're not going to go at full speed?" His question came out as more of a mocking whine than a genuine inquiry, his head clocking to the right slightly.
Carla, clearly, didn't seem to enjoy the teasing as much as Aoto did. Her ears grew pink with embarrassment as her face soon grew to follow. Her blush had gone from mildly noticeable to lighting up the room as she stammered and struggled to form words.
"I–ugh! Who even are you! If I went full speed it'd just burst your ego like a glass balloon! Bastard!" She wasn't too fond of being called slow.
Carla's main style of combat was speed based, she used most of her momentum through speed and combined it with her natural strength. Simply put: Carla was a demon of destruction trapped in a high school girl's body, at least, that's how Aoto felt.
Carla fanned her face to keep the heat from making her a human-shaped match, it was already embarrassing enough to get called a snail by her admirer, she couldn't look silly in front of him as well! "Fine! Fine…but don't blink…" Carla called as she lowered herself, her arms hanging in front of her as though her upper body lost all strength.
Before another word was thought of, Carla seemed to vanish from Aoto's field of view, his eyes swept across the room in confusion as they shot down and peaked at Carla, who was lowered so far to the ground that anyone would see her knuckles against the ground.
"Or you'll miss it!" Her knuckles dragged against the wood as a streak of smoke trailed behind her fist, the blow shook the area, a loud crack bounced off the walls as Aoto staggered back, feeling his brain rattle worse than boulder to the nose.
Though he was already disoriented, Carla had a point to prove to herself more than anything. She gripped Aoto's wrist and snatched him down to her, dragging him into her elbow as he let out a sharp cough. Carla followed afterwards with a punch to his gut and a follow-up calf kick to send him tumbling to the ground and rolling across the hardwood floor.
Aoro crashed into the shapes, ruining the makeshift arena he made to surround the area. He was struggling to stand, I mean, who wouldn't be after nearly seeing hell within a few strikes? His vision blurred a bit as he slowly lifted his head to see…
Nothing.
"Huh..?" Aoto stood up, the floor—if it could even be considered that—swishing under him as a reaction to the sudden movement. The ground felt wet, weird, and heavy all at once. It was like stepping through a pitch black river.
And yet, he wasn't wet. He couldn't feel anything dripping from his clothes either. Aoto kneeled down, pins and needle pricking at his skin relentlessly as he lowered his hand into the mystery liquid and attempted to pick it up into his palm.
To his surprise, it fell right through his hands. It felt surreal, I mean, just what the hell was going on? Aoto stood up, trying to listen for any other noise besides a recurring splash from his steps.
Waves from his movements seemed to die abruptly, it was easy to to move, but nothing else seemed to want to move along with him. Aoto spend what felt like ages just walking, he hadn't a single idea of where he was headed, though, he could feel wind coming from north, meaning there had to be an opening.
"That's a start." Aoto let out an exasperated sigh, sinking down onto his knees and eventually falling onto his back. His body physically relaxed in the water, though his mind was racing, the constant black was making his mind reel.
At least with this, he'd be able to float for a little, that wasn't too much to ask, was it?
Perhaps not, but he wouldn't have time to wonder for any longer than a few moments, as an unfamiliar sound—compared to the endless waves at least—jingled in his ear.
Aoto shot up, his ears twitching a little as he whipped his head toward where the sound had been. It was a jingle, like a cat bell or a christmas decoration. The water raised slightly at the appearance of what looked to be..
A door?
The door had appeared to be wood, a carpenter's dream actually. Being a smooth cream shade in color, it naturally stood out amongst the ink-black world like an orange in a lemon tree. It almost looked fake, maybe it was.
The appearance of the door was so sudden, but it wasn't the only thing to come so abruptly. Aoto was being watched.
The water seemed to try and grab at him as he stood up, with spikes sprouting violently from the water to shield the door. It was strange, they dripped with a strangle nihility, and yet they were also watching.
Make-shift eyes that looked as though they were being made from dough blinked open. Searching frantically for any threats. In what seemed like no time at all, the lids seemed to relax, and they blinked themselves away in the same manner they appeared, though the range of spikes was doubled by a layer.
Just what kind of monster was he dealing with?
Aoto took a few steps toward the door, his eyes still trying to get used to the bright color in contrast to the pitch black around it. It was like watching a cartoon on an old TV, static, loud, and alluring.
Just as he reached the door, the same jingle from before was heard, but he was back on the ground. Aoto was back in the water. He stood up, the water trying to reach for him in the same manner as before but inevitably failing.
"What the—what's going on?" Aoto's voice had a slight tremble as he stomped toward the door this time, turning his body toward the wind that had been blowing ever so slightly colder.
In which he was gazed upon by a light. A light that seemed so small, so far away, and so..trivial. Aoto turned back around and huffed, stretching his hand out to try and grab the door knob.
Though, with the cheerful jingle from before, he seemed to have been sent back into the water. A spot that he once found so calming was now inconvenient. Aoto stood up, but something was different. He felt heat.
It wasn't overly noticeable, but having been here for what felt like hours, this was likely the biggest change. The wind was stronger now—like gusts straight from fall, as the light from before seemed to multiply into five in his peripheral vision.
Aoto raced over to the door and tried again, but was rewinded back to the water. He tried again,
And again.
And again.
It was to the point where the only sound were the frantic roars of his feet kicking the water, and each time he was reset the light would burst into multiples with a slam, though it didn't stop him.
He continued nonetheless, Aoto endured more than two hundred and twenty two resets, and stars beamed around his body, seeming to dance around and enjoy themselves. Though, at this point, he'd been close enough to the beaming stars to realize they were–by no means–burning balls of gas.
They were people–or at least phantoms of them. Most of them were draped in white garments and jewels, enjoying the simplicity of a ball dance. From a handful of couples enjoying a slow dance with one another, to another sitting in void-ish black chairs and simply catching up with other couples.
Their skin was white and translucent, and he could barely make up race based off of facial features, though it wasn't as though he'd ever seen anyone of color beyond the tiny village he lived in and the small city he moved to when that bit the dust.
There was a somewhat relieving symphony flowing through what seemed to be an endless domain, it was nice…truly, it felt relieving.
"Nice, isn't it? They look pretty happy."
"Huh…?" A voice spoke softly behind Aoto, sounding almost like a treat in an ice cream shop that would undoubtedly catch your attention no matter what alluring flavors there may have been.
"You know.." The voice got closer, slipping their soft, slightly larger hands into his as pink hair began to flow elegantly in the strong breeze. Aoto turned his head, though he wouldn't have been able to resist anyway. He felt as though his body had already been bewitched, falling so deeply with the creature beside him, he couldn't dare to disobey or look away. "If I wasn't stuck protecting the wall, I'd be honored to be here."
The being had olive green eyes and a distant gaze that seemed not to mind Aoto's presence. His eyes went back to the dancing ghosts around him, they were bright, but didn't hurt his eyes.
"Is this heaven..? It's a lot darker than I was expecting.." he thought to himself, though, the being next to him seemed to read him as easily as an open book.
"Don't worry, this is just an 'Essence', temporary, sure, but most people appear here when they're close to unlocking their own. Though—most people don't choose the door this many times." The individual giggled to themselves, their eyes smiling with the joy of a person still blissfully in their twenties.
Aoto was still seventeen, but even he was a little jealous of her happiness. "An…an 'Essence'?" he mumbled back to her, their hands still intertwined as his worries of his death seemed to melt away.
As the realization of his calm set to the other person, their smile grew a little more, slipping their hand away from him—of course this was after they pinched his palm—as they locked her fingers behind her back and began to walk through the phantom crowd, beckoning the boy behind her back–to which he obviously followed suit. "I guess it is my job to help you guys out when you're confused, yes? Walk with me, would you? I'll catch you up on the world, so keep your ears as wide as you can!"