His head snapped forward, and the daze of the morning instantly faded away as he jumped from the ground. White light unveiled his skin, and his eyes stared back at him from the mirror, each finger checking a different part of his body. The feeling of drowning had long since disappeared, but he still felt something different about his body. His skin was looking different, much clearer than before. And even his eyes were not as sunken as before.
With three short steps, he stubbed his toe, this time not paying it very much mind. The dark sludge slithered down his throat before sprinting into his sister's room. Two beady green eyes stared at him, golden locks falling from her sides to block her face. Emma's body had already been leaning over the edge, only seconds away from falling on her face.
"Caught you!" His hands managed to grip her shoulders and hold her still.
"Oh- Uh, thanks. How did you get here before I fell? Have you finally unlocked those psychic powers you were talking about when we were younger??" Her smile was only made brighter by her cheerful chuckle.
He breathed a sigh of relief, looking deeply into his sister's eyes. 'That is indeed odd. This is exactly...like yesterday? No, it can't be. The coffee was there again...a time loop?' He pondered for a second, only being snapped out of it by the rumbling of someone's stomach. And that someone looked at him with a blushed face.
A soft smirk spread across Corvus's face as he brought the tray of soup to her. His eyes glanced at the watch. 'Early.'
"I have to head out for now. I promise to bring you something sweet later!"
Her face lit up even more as she excitedly jumped up while sitting down.
The outside smell did not make him queasy today; he had other things on his mind. Or better said, there was a new smell that seemed to fill his nose. Death.
His hand glided past the scanner, and the doors opened to let him pass through. From his pocket emerged a black rectangle, its screen reading the time. With haste, his fingers jotted down the number, and the phone rang silently.
One ring.
Two rings.
"Hello? Who is this?"
His face lit up. 'It worked!'
"There is no time to explain. Come to the park in quadrant 26. There will be five Gnarlings. Hurry!" The phone call ended without any more questions.
Next, he sprinted toward the mayoral dancing campaign. His lungs were filling up with as much air as humanly possible. "EVERYONE! EVACUATE THE AREA NOW! FIVE CATEGORY TWO GNARLINGS WILL DESCEND FROM THE SKY!"
The crowd went silent, and even the music paused. The first wave of laughter spread, followed by the next and the last.
"Crazy man!"
"What a lunatic!"
"Why did you disturb our dancing?!"
Cans of soda, glass bottles, and even fresh fruit were flung at him. He nimbly dodged each one, but his mind was hurt from the distrust. 'I guess to them, the words of a commoner will never amount to anything.' He turned his back on them, retreating to a safe distance.
A familiar figure appeared from atop the rooftop, a crimson javelin in hand, as she jumped down onto the grassy terrain. Corvus wasted no time running to her side.
"I am so glad you came!"
She stared at him with a hint of annoyance and confusion.
"Yeah. Whatever...how do you have my number though?"
He rubbed the back of his head, cocking a stressed smile. Before he could answer, the ground shook as five immense beings landed in the park. Her eyes widened, staring at Corvus's correct premonition.
"You...wait here!" Her spear flew through the air, completely deleting the first gnarling. The first part of the plan was done. Now he could just sit back and wait for her to finish.
And that was what he did. It took no more than five minutes, with front row tickets to the slaughter of the Vanquisher. Her work was quick and ruthless, but the most important part of this battle was that there were no casualties.
"That should earn me a little extra." Her feet carried her back toward Corvus, who was admiring the radiant beauty of his saviour.
For a few seconds, it seemed like she had a slight blush on her face, but he quickly realised that it was blood from the gnarlings.
"Look, I don't know how you have my number. Or how you knew there would be gnarlings here. But...thanks for the call. This way, no one died."
"The pleasure is all mine. Could I get your name?"
She stared at him in disbelief before slapping her knee with laughter.
"You don't know me?! My name is Cassie, Cassie of the Vanquisher's Guild." She paused for a second, realising he truly didn't know who she was. "Well, that doesn't matter much. But you deserve a reward for your great deed today. Me. You. Dinner. On me."
Corvus stared at her. His finger crawled into his ear and cleaned it a little. "Perhaps I didn't hear that right. Could you repeat it one more time?"
A grim look flashed across her face. "I said. Dinner. Tonight. You and I."
"Mhm. Yes, of course- Dinner with a tier three Vanquisher?!!?" Finally, it had caught up to Corvus that she had just invited him to. He blinked aggressively at her. But Cassie quickly grew tired of his internal panicking, leaving as quickly as she arrived.
'Ahhh~ What a beauty she is.' His eyes glanced at his watch.
'Damnt it! I will be late if I don't hurry!' Corvus raced through the park, then through the busy, clean streets. Vendors lined the streets selling fresh produce, but he had no time to spare them even a glance.
The two double doors of the dealership came into view, and his boss's car wasn't there either. 'Score!' The cheeky smile spread on his lips as he burst through the doors and clocked in, a minute before the opening.
"Let's sell some cars!"