5 Chapter 5 - Precipice of Repose

In an abandoned building…

"What do you really know about awakened?" Blaike sat on a chair and mused as she munched on her bag of nuts.

Raven furrowed his brows as he contemplated the question. It had been a week since Blaike took on the role of his "teacher", but this was his first time seeing her since the last time. Obviously, it was thanks to his injuries, which had kept him sidelined for a week before he was allowed to move around again.

'Awakened?' Raven had to admit he didn't know much about them. Nothing about them showed on the internet. Information regarding the new species seemed to be restricted by a mysterious force.

As Raven dived deeper into thoughts, a nut whizzed through the air, smacking him square on the forehead and leaving a small burn mark.

Raven rubbed his head and scowled at Blaike, who responded with a taunting smile.

"You think too much. In a battle, hesitation kills. I merely asked for your thoughts, not accurate, detailed information. Do you understand, Rae?" she teased, popping another nut into her mouth. "Wait, can I call you Rae? Yea, you don't mind, little Rae."

Raven winced at the mention of his new nickname. He had a feeling she would never stop calling him that. 'Yes, I overthought. I—'

Suddenly, he sensed an object pierce through his defensive bubble, but the object flew at such an impressive speed that Raven couldn't react in time.

Scratching his head again, Raven hissed, "What was that for?!"'

"Ah, finally, he speaks!" Blaike chuckled and picked another nut to munch on. " I don't know… you just look so cute in your pondering mode. I couldn't help myself."

Raven donned an annoyed expression. If looks could kill, Blaike would have been ten feet under in no time. Unfortunately, his dagger eyes seemed to not affect Blaike as she gazed at him and taunted him even more.

'She's just like the old man… forget it!' Raven gritted his teeth.

Learning from his past mistakes, he quickly spoke, "The awakened are a new species of humans. They are beings capable of the unthinkable."

"Good, at least you said something. Keep it up." 

A blush crept on Raven's face, but he quickly hid it. He was embarrassed that he gave such a simple answer. Even ten-years olds knew that!

"But let me correct you on one thing. The awakened are not capable of the unthinkable. It is a fallacy. Never delude yourself on that path. Nothing about the awakened is unthinkable. They are sculpted with and by boundaries and mystical laws. Even the jaw-dropping act of turning into a ball of fire is nothing but an equation made under these rules. The unthinkable is merely a label coined by normies to define things beyond their comprehension. Still, even for us, there exist realms of possibility considered beyond reach!"

'Why does she know so much…?' 

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Are you an awakened?"

"Took you long enough, hehe," Blaike winked. "And by the way, we prefer to be called mystics."

"What about the old man?"

"Heh, what do you think? Anyway, enough about that, let's continue."

*******************

Far away in a sub-district of the slums, a man stumbled into his home after a tragic drunk fest night. The sound of the nightlife boomed through the dilapidated walls and beaming red lights pierced the few glass windows, casting the room in shades of red and black.

"Tell no one. Bob, nothing ever happened tonight!" Von glared at his friend, threatening.

"Yes… uh, I won't tell a soul. It happened to me too, you know," vehemently nodded Bob.

The two of them had just gone through the worst experience of their life. Dark shades covered their faces as they tried banishing the event from their minds, but it stuck like glue. A stain that reached the depth of their souls.

Bob noticed something. "Hey boss, you limping pretty bad. Your ass is–"

"Shut up!" 

Did he have to be so annoying?!

Von felt nauseous as the images of the event flashed in his mind again.

How did this happen again?!

All he remembered was celebrating in a local dive bar with Bob as he had landed a job in the upper district. For someone from the slums, this was a blessing straight from the gods. Not to talk about monetary income, the rise in value was tempting enough. As a matter of fact, it wasn't an exaggeration to say he had only now just become a bonafide citizen of Charmire.

Yet, somewhere between shots of cheap whiskey and rounds of karaoke, things took a bizarre turn. Next thing Von knew, he woke up in a room of naked guys. Naked huge thick-ass guys! The kind that would make Magic Mike look like a choirboy.

He had unknowingly entered a gay whorehouse. When he first woke up, he remembered feeling sore everywhere… especially his bottom half. The hole there had taken a rather unnatural shape.

Von clenched his fist and bellowed, "Fuck! Someone pranked us. There's no way I walked willingly into a gay brothel, drunken or not!" 

Behind him, Bob grabbed a drink from the fridge and nodded, chiming in. "That makes sense. I almost thought you…"

He stopped quickly as he felt danger flash before him, contemplating his thoughts. If he actually spoke his mind, Von would undoubtedly beat him up.

"Almost thought what?"

"Nothing…."

"And what about you? I don't recall you being drunk."

Bob revealed with a proud smile, "Oh… well, you were so drunk and entered the brothel. I tried warning you but you seemed determined. I couldn't just abandon you so… You don't have to thank me. That's what friends are for!"

For a fleeting moment, Von felt a warm fuzzy feeling creeping in. But then reality slapped him like a soggy pancake. Was it normal to follow someone to a male brothel just because of friendship?

Hell no! The Bro code didn't cover that section.

'He went willingly. It's almost like he wanted it.' Von shivered at the thought and recoiled in horror. He started seeing Bob in a new light and slowly backed away.

Bob scratched his head absentmindedly. "It was really fun. Despite their big, rugged, and sexy appearance, the men were quite cute and nice. Hehe, when you started scream… ahem, expressing your discontent, I was scared but they assured me everything was cool."

Von's eyes widened in shock. A seething righteous rage exploded within him.

This bastard! While he was being tortured, Bob was actually enjoying himself!

"Huh…? Von, do you feel that?"

Von scowled, "Don't change the subject, you creep!"

"Seriously, did you leave the windows open? It's freezing."

"Hmph. I know what you are trying to do. Won't work. Stay away from me."

Bob felt the temperature in the air decline by a notch. His skin tingled as he shivered endlessly. In a span of seconds, the apartment turned to a frigid tundra as frozen mist emerged from the ground. He tried talking to Von, but he wasn't listening. Could it be only he saw it?

Bob's burly frame shrank under the bone-chilling condition, leaving him with a feeling of weakness. He struggled to breathe and reached out for support. 

'W-What the fuck?' Bob screamed in his mind as his hand touched the frame of the chair. 

A tiny veneer of ice had begun to spread from the point of contact, snaking its way across the furniture. Bob's eyes could trace the slithering movement of the sheet of ice. He sensed a hunger so voracious and malevolent dwelling within the intent of the ice and it terrified him.

No, it broke his mind!

"Ahhh. Von, we are doomed. I don't want to die. Von, do something. Please!" Tears welled up from his eyes as the gravity of the situation dawned on him.

At the precipice of Repose—many hunters in the world knew about this mystical state that only dwelled in mortals. The Precipice of Repose. An unfathomable anomaly. It was a state that could not be understood and could not be pursued. Many theorized it as a paradoxical spacetime singularity. Something utterly inconceivable but yet it existed, occurring at irregular junctures.

Devout men called it divine intervention because it imbued knowledge that mortals should never come across in exchange for a paramount sacrifice—life. They weren't wrong though. The nature of this state was definitely an intervention, perhaps a final boon to the mortals that perceive it. Or, most likely, nature's killing joke to accursed mortals as the knowledge gained often offered no avenue back to life.

Bob was no hunter. He was nothing but a mortal living in the dangerous zone city of Charmire. However, when he brushed against the precipice of repose… when he faced the lull of death, he instinctively grasped something that perhaps only the future would have revealed—he would die today! A supernatural influence now targeted his life.

"Why the hell are you crying? It's just a cold," Von was worried about Bob's sudden breakdown.

"Don't you see it, Von?"

"See what? God! Stop being such a wuss. There's nothing wro—"

Von stopped speaking and his eyes widened. How had he just noticed it? Frosty breath escaped his lips, crystalizing midair like snowflakes. He tried speaking and the cold air became even more condensed as if he was buried in a snowstorm.

"What the hell?"

Bob's eyes widened in terror as he clamoured, "Do you see it now? It's all around. I can hear it. I-I think it is a song. No, a lullaby. She's calling us. Von, she wants us. Von…"

Before Bob could continue, the mist thickened, engulfing them in an impenetrable veil of darkness. Only the echoes of Bob's wails pierced through the thick mist as he tried communicating with Von. However, Von was awfully silent… 

No! The moment the mist surged, Von was already dead!

The mist intensified once more, and soon enough, Bob's wails ceased to exist!

For a fleeting moment, a haunting melody filled the air. Then as swiftly as it had begun the cacophony ceased, leaving behind only an eerie silence.