Steampunk CTs

Yes…I’ll start over. I, Jabari Okoye, will turn a new leaf. Apparently, Anima is a good place to start for someone like me. I don’t know where to even begin, but I will immediately begin this new path of mine.

As I rounded the corner after my battle with Anna and kept walking through the alleyways. When I finally made it to the forest outside of the amusement park, I saw a unique sight. It was a Haustorian woman with a short afro. She wore a frilly skirt and a black choker. It looked like she was kicking rocks until she noticed me.

“Oh. You must be Jabari Okoye, correct?” She was soft spoken, but something about her nature was making me nervous. “Sorry in advance. Well, I guess it doesn’t matter how much I apologize for killing someone. I don’t think any sane person would be okay with their own death after an apology.” As she was speaking, she revealed a ring with a bright blue gem embedded within it. It was a stemata.

As she put it on, I immediately turned right back around to try to lose her, but as I ran back to the entrance I found myself being pushed onto the ground. I looked in front of me and there wasn’t a wall or anything obstructing me. Did she put up a barrier?

I looked behind me at her and with her ring on her finger, she just watched me. This is my chance! I have to get out of here. Whatever her ability is, I could probably escape if I run fast enough.

I turned around and ran straight for the alleyways, but bumped straight into something and stumbled back onto the floor. Some invisible force was keeping me from leaving through here. Damn it! She already activated it! If it’s something that traps me here…if I can’t even run…I have no choice but to fight!

I turned around and let out a war cry as I charged the mysterious woman. Before I could even reach her though I was briefly pinned to the ground. Who the hell is even this woman?! She can’t be with the BCT. Arno and Ori are the only recorded Haustorians to ever join. Is she someone that hates the Rosarians?

It seems she noticed my confusion, so she entertained my curiosity. “My boss is a rather theatrical person. He wants to be the first Haustorian to make a large-scale terrorist attack. That means that there can’t be any Haustorian terrorists in situations prior, you understand?”

“I-I’m not the first ever Haustorian to do something like this though! There have been plenty before me. So whatever you have planned for me is useless!”

“There’s a difference between crime here and there and a terrorist attack. To make it painfully simple: Haustorians in Holia don't have the time to organize something like what’s happening here with Holians breathing down their necks. But don’t worry. My boss and crew came straight from the motherland not so long ago, so you can rest easy.”

Rest…easy?

That’s when I felt a searing pain in one of my calves. When I looked down to see what exactly it was, I noticed the entire thing was gone. I let out a howl in pain to no avail. Something took a bite out of me and I can’t even see it!

But it didn’t even stop there. More chunks were taken out of me by this invisible force. I was certain of it now that I was being devoured by an invisible beast and there was nothing I could do about it.

“You’re not accomplishing anything! I already fought a member of the BCT and got away! She’s going to file a report and it’ll be too late!”

“I’m not worried about that. My stemata will do the heavy lifting for that. Once you’re eaten. Not a single person will remember the name Jabari Okoye.”

My eyes widened as I couldn’t keep whatever remaining calm I had left. I screamed out whatever came to my mind because I knew this would be my last moments in this world.

“Hami, save me! I don’t want to die! Annabelle! I’m sorry! I'm so sorry! I let my hate take me over! I’ll never hold an ounce of hatred in my soul ever again! God just save me from this and I’ll forever be changed! Please—” I was jerked by my hair and what was left of my body to be face to face with the woman. For the first time in our interaction, she was furious.

“‘Hami?’’Save me?’ The God you believe doesn’t exist. If he truly did. If he was actually guiding and watching over us, he wouldn’t let that tragedy happen. But don’t worry. My boss will make the fall of Haustoria look like a playground scuffle!” She then threw me back onto the ground and the invisible beast tore off my limbs and was now working towards my torso.

As my vision was getting blurry and my world was fading, there was a sense of calmness that washed over me. I couldn’t even feel anything anymore. Was what she said true? “A tragedy far worse than the fall of Haustoria?”

In a brief moment, the prospect of Anna being killed several brutal ways flashed through my mind…dear God. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.

Someone…anyone…please stop them.

Sonata

“You’re up, boss. The crowd’s ready for you.” My assistant called me over as I was getting ready in the green room.

In a bunker within the very depths of zone two, was an underground church built by my people and I. I come from zone one but you wanna know the best thing about zone 2? There’s no building regulations. On the surface, I’m just some guy with a shack in the middle of the woods. In reality, I’m Sonata! Leader of one of the four disasters! All we want to do is cause some destruction. The only problem is that we have a bit of a cycle going on. Our last attack was the bombing of zone two. Not only did half of our forces get arrested and executed, but that was several years ago. We’ve been slowly rebuilding our forces, but because of that, we’re losing the gaze of the public eye. There’s even whispers that we’ll get our status as a disaster revoked! We’re still a threat, damn it! We’re still a force of nature to be reckoned with! People should linger at their doorstep and contemplate even stepping outside when who we are flashes across their mind!’

“Uh…boss?”

“I’ll be right there!” I fastened the buttons on my cassock and donned my purple cape as I stepped onto the stage. As I looked into the crowd I saw the faces of scourges and lowlifes. These people are itching to destroy property and plunge the world into chaos like the lunatics they are.

They’re my kind of people.

“Gentlemen…God is dead. And the people of Holia killed him!” As I pumped my fist into the air, the crowd went wild with praises and cheers for me. As they did, I continued on. “I must remind you all. We are not solely up against the Bureau of Counter Terrorism. We are up against an ideal! This is a clash of ideals! Their artificial restraint that they label as ‘order’ against our enlightened selves! Their false God with a shield as its weapon versus the true form of Taramos that we represent! A God that kills and takes what he wants! I repeat! God! Is! Dead!...And we need a new symbol.”

The crowd was going wild. They couldn’t get enough. I’ve got them dazzled like a magician. No one listened to me like these guys do. I was a nobody that couldn’t break into a single industry I tried applying for because no one gave me the chance, but these guys get me! And it’s about time I reward them. I bought a new stemata from the Samukami and he gave me the guarantee that it has the potential to destroy this country! I’ll reveal it and claim myself as the incarnation of Taramos! The god of destruction: Vicnine!

“What we need is a God of destruction!—”

“If a God of destruction is what you’re looking for…then look no further.” All eyes immediately turned to find the source of the voice and when the sea of people found out who it was, they divided to single out this cloaked man. The man walked into the light to reveal himself. When he did, he took off his hood. It was…a Haustorian?!

Murmurs immediately erupted at the sight of him. I personally don’t care about Haustorians. If they’re willing to help with our efforts, I’ll gladly use them. This one however, took the words right out of my mouth. He wishes to contest me for the title of “God of destruction.”

I heard the cocking of several guns as my loyal followers took aim at this person.

“Could I at least introduce myself?” He joked.

That’s when one of my four cardinal generals made their appearance. He wore a purple trench coat with black accents along with black dress pants and shoes. His hair was a shaggy, dirty gray and he took a huge puff of his cigarette before blowing the smoke away.

“General of the North: Garen Voltheim. I handle the acquisition and distribution of arms. Hello…and goodbye.” As he flicked his cigarette away, all of the guns that surrounded the Haustorian fired one after another. The room began to fill with smoke as each one of the gunmen emptied all of their ammo into the person. In Vicnine, at the very top, there is me. The person that’ll lead these people into the new world. Then there’s the four generals. Each of them were assigned a cardinal direction in which when the day of Ragnarok came, they would march with their armies In their assigned direction to raze the world asunder. It’s unfortunate, Haustorian. Maybe you got a lot of excitement and were speaking out of turn, but this is the end for…you?

Upon closer inspection, the reality of the situation sunk in. There were holes in the Haustorian. Garen succeeded in that, but he was unfazed by them. Blue flower petals began to grow and replace the parts that the crew did damage to.

“Hm…You’re one of the generals, huh? That’s perfect! Because a subordinate of mine is gonna need a spot!” He raised his arm and as he did, Garen wasted no effort in revealing his stemata.

Garen’s stemata is one that has the ability to increase firepower with each bullet that is fired within a single clip. He customized his shotgun to allow for more shots before he has to replace the ammo, so by the time he empties that magazine, he’ll be hitting with enough force to take down a building. I heard about this individual from the papers. He was there during the whole zone two coup fiasco. He may have made himself seem invincible then, but I won’t fall for it. He is just like any other man, and we will prove it by making him bleed—

“Blegh!” Garen vomited blood as he dropped his stemata and his body crumpled to the floor. Are my eyes playing tricks on me? What the hell just happened?! Garen didn’t even get two shots off before a hole the size of his chest was made through him. This isn’t good. This isn’t good at all! Garen couldn’t finish the job! I didn’t learn anything from their fight, either! Did he just die for nothing?! Wait…

Am I going to die?

“Now then…if my intel serves right, if I challenge and kill you, I can become the leader of Vicnine, right?” He turned to face me and as he did, I saw true chaos and hatred for everything and everyone around him. If he wanted to, he could’ve killed every single person in this room. Behind that smile of his is the face of someone that is truly prepared to wreak havoc.

“It’s true. Come with me…”

===

I lead the Haustorian outside. All of my followers tailed us outside to witness this as well. I rarely have people challenge me because of my charisma as a leader, but here we are. In this forest with my loyal followers watching us, I’ll avenge Garen and solidify why I’m God’s chosen soldier!

“I’ll just make this brief because I could kill you at any moment, so try to make your death flashy.” The Haustorian asked.

“Excuse me?” Just who does this bastard think he is? If there’s anyone I hate more than anything, it’s people that think they’re better than me. Just what did this person go through that makes him think he’s so special. I want to wipe that smug look off of his face by bashing his skull in.

He continued by saying “I need to show off just how amazing I am, so I’ll give you one free hit to kill me. If you couldn’t tell from your friend’s attempt, hitting me with no plan won’t work out. The best thing is to—”

“Shut your mouth, heathen. You are a man riddled with delusion, obviously. Allow me to bring you back down to reality.” I took the case I had off of my back and unlocked it to reveal my stemata.

It was said that these lands were riddled with chaos and anarchy until Taramos created the first city and walls with his own two hands. If Taramos is a symbol of unity and safety, I want to tear those very walls down! With this!

The stemata I revealed was a battering ram made out of a stem crystal. This stemata has the firepower to destroy the integrity of any material.. He wants to act all high and mighty, but he’s just like the rest of us! He isn’t as special as he thinks!

I charged at him with the ram and as I connected, thousands of flower petal rushed out of the other side of his body. Regardless of his offensive capabilities, no one could run from an ability like this. The strongest warriors and walls will fall under this power!

As his boy jerked forward, his eyes widened. But immediately after, he began to produce a wicked smile. This smile produced a chuckle that turned into laughter. “I see! So this is the power of a stemata. Some are pathetic, but others have the power to surpass the Sync Barrier! I applaud you, Sonata. But unfortunately, you should’ve killed me there!” He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. I barely had enough time to react. I see…the activation for his offensive ability is a snap. His defensive ability is a sync barrier…what even is that?

I guess it doesn’t matter now…There’s a vacant hole now where most of my torso was…

What was left of my body crumbled to the floor and I could hear the distressed cries of the crowd. The Haustorian walked over to me with that same distorted grin and like a child that found a place to play, he splashed into my pool of blood and kicked around in it. I can’t believe that with no effort, this lunatic is about to take everything I worked so hard for…that bastard! I want to kill him! I want him dead I want him dead I want him DEAD!

“Oh?” He then met my furious gaze. Even as I bled out, he could tell the pure fury behind my gaze.

“Pffft.” He began to laugh…

“Ahahahahahaha! Oh, give me a break!” He proceeded to kick me in the head and stomp on my skull repeatedly. My skull rang as my vision began to fade with each kick done to me. He continued his berating from there, “You look pathetic! Like a child that got caught and is getting their punishment! ‘Bring me back down to reality?!’ Reality’s a joke, can’t you tell?!’”

My vision faded to darkness as I took in the last words he uttered to me.

“Gods are supposed to be omnipotent, right? So if you want to hate anyone, lament your deity for not making you strong enough to face me…”

A Haustorian named…

I looked at the severed, mangled body that lay at my feet. He really thought he stood a chance. It’s a powerful stemata, but only because of how my abilities work. He was pretty much a natural counter to me. I’ll have to get rid of that.

“A Haustorian leader?”

“I don’t know about this…”

I immediately noticed the crowd of Vicnine believers somewhat uncertain about the future of their organization. I’ll just have to reassure them—

One after another, everyone dropped to their knees and gave me a full bow. I guess after some thought, they weighed me as a better leader. Makes no difference to me. That just means less people I have to kill to make an example.

“M’lord. We are certain of it! You are an incarnation of our God, Vicnine! Can we please know your name?”

“My name? Hm…”

Ever since that day all of those years ago, I threw away my name. After all, it was my first step to severing my bond with reality. I honestly don’t give a damn what these people call me. I just wanna wreck shit.

…mi I vaguely remembered the voice of a Haustorian I saved on a whim a while back. I smirked as I decided.

“You can call me Hami.”