"Hey Sola, what do you think about them"
The boy with long dark hair, who looked no older than a high schooler, halted, surprised more by her voice than by the strange question his classmate had asked.
"What is there to think about? It's just a broken piece of machinery"
Girl in front of him blinked couple of times, as if she was expecting a different answer from him.
Was he missing something? there was nothing there just a couple of broken cameras and random parts piled up with oil.
Actually, this wasn't a rare sight in the city, broken pieces of machinery were everywhere.
As he was walking next to her, she mumbled something quietly, while looking at the trash in front of her. Sola looked at her and noticed a tiny droplet of water on her eyelashes. Was she crying? or had a single snowflake managed to land on her stunningly long lashes? He didn't know and he didn't care. Or at least, that's what he wanted to feel.
Even though he slept most of the time in class, the time still passed unusually slow.
The dream he had during the last class was unusually disturbing. He was looking through the camera of the broken machines from earlier. He had a clear image of himself and Lily—the quiet girl who had only a few friends at school. She wasn't a weirdo or anything, she just didn't like talking much, or at least that's how it seemed—and he liked that conclusion.
He wasn't a big fan of talking either. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Lily's voice, which he could hear as if he were listening to a radio.
"Hey Sola, what do you think about them"
He could see himself stop for a second, he knew what he was going to say, so he did a little show for the audience, a little trick as if he knew the future. Right as his other self opened his mouth, they answered the question at the same time.
'What is there to think about? It's just a broken piece of machinery'
"What is there to think about? It's just a broken piece of machinery"
he saw himself walking past Lily and heard a voice, it was a quiet gentle whisper which he didn't hear last time, Lily gently opened her red cherry lips and mumbled:
"I'm talking about them"
Lily's pupils shifted to the far left of her eyes, as if asking about someone beside them.
Looking to her left, he noticed two figures speaking behind them. He couldn't see them clearly, but one of them suddenly looked straight at him, as if it felt his stare.
'Wha-'
BANG!
He was woken up by a loud scream and the sound of a door exploding into pieces. As he lifted his head, he saw ugly monsters storming into the classroom.
One had a humanoid silhouette but four arms and was twice the size of a person. Another had four legs covered in bloody fur, ripping apart one of his classmates' flesh with its teeth, while slashing others in half with its sharp claws.
In a matter of seconds the first line of students, around seven of them were torn apart beyond recognition. sola instantly crouched under his desk like all other students who were alive.
They screamed, cried, and begged for mercy, but the furious beasts showed none, killing one after another, making the room grow quieter with each passing second.
Sola was crying too, but not for the reason anyone would think. His head hurt, a pain so intense that he wished he could be the next victim of those sharp claws. He wanted to stand and run toward it, but he couldn't move.
All he managed to do was rotate his head and see the four-armed beast approach him. It walked right past him and went to the chair next to him, where Lily was sitting.
What happened next was horrifying.
The creature, more than twice her size, approached her, grabbed her light, petite body like a doll, and placed a thumb on her forehead while locking eyes with her.
In the next moment, you could see life leaving Lily's eyes, as if the monster had somehow killed her without physically hurting her.
Her lifeless head rolled back behind.
She was dead.
"This is unfair this is so unfair"
Sola clenched his fists, cursing the gods who didn't protect them.
As he stood up from the anger, the furious beast lunged at him.
At the last second, Sola managed to grab a pencil and tried to stab the creature in its dark brownish eyes, which he could see so vividly from up close.
Until the tip of the sharp pencil reached the creature's eye, he felt a burning sensation on his forehead.
The furred beast's claw was touching his forehead, making small drops of blood rain down on his face.
He felt as if his soul was draining away with every second. And just before the last drop of his being was consumed by the ugly beast, he heard a comforting voice in his head.
[You have been challenged to a duel by the Tier V dread Fiend-Ruinous Blood thirster]
[Do you wish to accept?]
There was no need or time for thinking.
"Yes"
And just before the lights went out in his eyes, he heard a terrifying sound and saw Lily's head roll across the floor in front of him. The monster, standing over her body, was completely still.
He found himself in the darkness where he heard the voice again.
[Welcome the soul duel challenger]
[May the gods bestow upon thee their strength]