JESSIE
"Jezzy! Jezzy, where are you? Jezzy!"
Oh my God, it feels like I have been hit by a brick, a harsh brick that's going to give me a headache for a whole week. But it will heal, right? I'm not going to have the headache for that long because I'm a supernatural creature who heals quicker than any other person. Right?
"Jezzy! Jezzy!"
Well, it seems like having a headache is the least of my problems because now that my eyes are open, I see myself surrounded by nothing but darkness. As soon as I take in my surroundings. I look everywhere. It's true, there's darkness everywhere.
It's like I've gone blind, or I've been locked in a dark room, or I died and this is hell. Neither scenario is good, and I want out.
I realise I'm on the ground, so I get up and I look around to see if I'll spot a little light to suggest that I'm going to be fine and I can get out of all this, but nothing.
I can't see anything, I can only hear, and it's a familiar voice calling my unique nickname.
Sebby.
I can hear him, but I cannot see him. And it's making me panic.
"Sebby? Sebby, I'm here! Sebastian! What's going on?"
I don't like this. I do not like this one bit. I look around me in hopes that he'll at least find the sound of my voice in this mysterious, dark room.
"Jezzy, where are you?" he asks again, and I'm moving forward even though I'm in a dark room and I can't see anything.
"Sebby I'm here!" I cry, I'm scared, and I'm cold. I don't like this one bit. I don't understand this at all. Why am I here? What even is this place, and why can't Sebby hear me?
One minute I'm confronting a child molesting demon, and the next I'm here. Could the demon have been responsible for this? Oh, that disgusting bitch! How do I get out?
"Sebby! Pilar! Michael! Anyone!"
I yell, but it's no use. I can't see a single thing, and all I can hear is Sebby's voice calling for me, and his voice is beginning to disappear into the distance. It's almost like this place was built to punish me, make me go insane.
And I am indeed going insane.
"Sebby," I mutter sadly, crouching, and I just stay on the floor. There's nothing for me to do, there's no hope, it's lost. But then I remember… I literally have another sight. I can see through the dark.
I get up immediately after realising this.
"I'm such a fucking idiot!" I shout, and then I quickly use my other sight. And of course, it works. That's when I see a light, no, a door surrounded by light. My only real escape.
I smile excitedly because it seems like I'm not blind, but I am indeed locked in a dark room. But how? More moving now, fewer questions later.
So I rush over to the door and I open it.
"Sebby I'm here!" I shout, but my smile immediately disappears when I see what's before me. I expected to be in a house, to walk out of a basement or something, but no, I'm outside, I'm on the streets of New Orleans. And it's not the same New Orleans that I grew up with. This New Orleans is scary, very scary.
Dark, dystopian, and depressing.
There are no jazz bands, no dancers, no tourists; the joy of hearing a child's laughter doesn't exist anymore, everything's just different.
"What the hell?" I say under my breath, taking everything in.
Okay, so maybe I didn't go blind and I wasn't locked inside a room, but I did die, and this is indeed hell. That fucked up demon killed me. He killed me, and now I'm in hell.
It seems like going back into the dark room is for the best because I don't want to face what's in this new version of New Orleans.
I have to face what's happening, so I move forward. I walk down the empty streets. There's no colour, just darkness.
The sky is grey, the clouds are black, and the sun is nowhere to be found. Funny, I was expecting hell to be all fire and brimstone. Like how my father explained it when he found me kissing a boy in his home.
Speaking of my father, I am prone to seeing him here any time soon. But I don't want to. I don't want to accept my fate that this is hell. I have to get out of here.
If this is hell, why am I the only one in it? Why am I the only one here? Am I the only bad person?
But I'm not even a bad person. Sure, I'm a human who makes mistakes, but I'm not evil.
Could I be here because I'm gay? Could my father's words be true?
I stop walking and I just stand there in the middle of the street. I remember that I heard Sebby's voice, so he must be here somewhere.
"Sebby! Sebby, where are you? Can you-" I gasp. Because I don't hear Sebby's voice, but I do hear growling and the ground shaking.
Oh no, this is it, the demons of this realm are here to torture me. I turn around to see a large beast, it's like that of a cat, with large green eyes, large ears and whiskers. Long ass claws, and as if the claws aren't enough, he has a sharp, long tail that can be used to catch anyone who is running from it.
It's the beast that killed me; he's here in hell with me.
I quickly run into the nearest shop, and I see myself surrounded by crystal balls and tarot cards, cobwebs find a home on my afro, but I don't care about my hair right now. There are bigger things to worry about. I look out the window to see what this beast is up to. He didn't see me.
So what is he doing? I wonder.
I look out to see for myself, and he's just walking around; he's not looking for anyone really. This is his home, and this is where he belongs. This is obviously not the earth that I grew up in, but I heard Sebby's voice. Where is he? Or did this beast hurt him? I swear to God, if I find out that this beast hurt Sebby, I'm going to.
BOOM!
I flinch at the sound. A whole building is destroyed, and it's the beast that clashed into it. Something or someone got to the beast, but who, what? The beast rises to his feet, and he does not look happy. He roars.
What could have hit this thing?
And that's when I see someone walking-no, strutting toward the beast with no fear.
A muscular man, but I don't know if it's a man, I can't see their face. But they look so fucking cool. They look like a superhero from a Marvel movie.
This individual is dressed in a regal, battle-ready, and mystical outfit that blends Egyptian-inspired design with a modern superhero aesthetic.
A black hood drapes over the head, and they're wearing a full golden face mask, and I can spot the glowing emerald green cat eyes, suggesting that this is a Nytheri.
The main body suit is a sleek, form-fitting armour in shades of silver-grey with faint blue undertones, sculpted to highlight the muscular physique. It looks both flexible and protective, almost like a mix of fabric and enchanted metal.
Golden metallic accents armour the shoulders and chest, styled with ornate Egyptian curves and lines. A central golden plate adds a divine warrior feel.
A wide golden belt with an engraved circular gem centrepiece cinches the waist. Flowing from it is a decorated front tabard with hieroglyphic-style markings.
And then he has a long flowing cape draping from the shoulders, adding majesty and mystery to the figure.
The shin and foot armour are detailed with golden engravings and angular patterns, continuing the divine warrior aesthetic.
Not to mention the long claws that are out and ready to fight anything. Including the monstrous beast who killed me.
All I've got to say is, whoever this person is, they are badass as fuck.
The beast roars at the masked hero and runs toward him, ready to attack. The hero runs toward him as well, and with no fear.
They fight off the beast with so much class and elegance. Kicking and punching the beast with so much ease. They use their nails and they attack the beast with them, the beast moans in pain, and I see dark smoke come out of the beast's stomach.
The hero raises his hand again to give the beast another scratching, and I don't know if it's my eyes deceiving me, but the beast begs for mercy. At first, I think the hero is going to show him that mercy, but he doesn't. He attacks the beast over and over again until the beast dies.
Oh my God, the beast is dead?
"Holy shit," I say, and the hero standing before me looks behind them, and they're looking at me. That's when I realise I'm no longer cowering in the shop, but I've been on the streets watching the fight happen all this time. I don't even remember walking out of there.
"Uh." I just stand there awkwardly, and the hero struts toward me.
"Sekmetra, Sekmetra!" they say in a raspy voice, and I furrow my brows, confused as to what the hero is talking about.
"Sekmetra!" they shout as if they're teaching me ABCs and 123s
Sekmetra
Sekmetra
Sekmetra
Oh my God, I get it now!