Elijah ran down the dark streets. He saw an abandoned gothic-style building that looked like it had come straight out of a horror movie. "Maybe it's not a very good idea to go into that building," Elijah said to himself. Across the street, there was a church where people could be seen going in and out. Elijah waited for the traffic on the streets to hold up; in a matter of seconds, the carriages and cars stopped, allowing him to run across the street.
A father and his daughter held hands as they walked out of the church. "Daddy, when can I get the new Charlie doll?" she asked. She had pure blonde hair and ember-colored eyes, while the father had brown hair with a pair of similarly colored ember eyes and looked to be in his late forties.
"I can get you the doll once I have enough money, okay sweetie?" The girl grinned, slipped from her father's hands, and ran around playfully. "Okay, daddy!" The father chased after her and, once he caught her, gave her a piggyback ride. (Cute,) Elijah thought as he marched into the church.
He suddenly realized that he was wearing a messy white shirt and black shorts. Embarrassed, he ran out of the church to find a change of clothes somewhere. He searched as hard as he could until a thought came into his head: "That abandoned building." Elijah sighed heavily. "I doubt that place has clothes of my size."
The door to the building was blocked off, and he didn't have enough strength to pull the wooden boards from it. He went around back where there was a broken window. "Someone has already been in here... it's another reason I should leave... but I need the clothes," Elijah said painfully.
He climbed through the window. The inside was dark and dusty, with a musky smell in the air that reminded him of burnt human flesh. Elijah walked deeper into the building, checking some of the rooms. They had clothes, but none were his size; the other rooms contained only girls' clothes.
The building had five floors. Elijah had already checked four floors without finding anything when a sudden crash came from one of the rooms. "Like all horror movies, go near the sound and you die," Elijah muttered as he walked away from the noise and entered a room at the end of the hallway. This room actually had clothes his size; he found a white shirt which he paired with a black vest.
He searched the room for pants and found one pair, though they were a little short. The clothes themselves were somehow clean. "Did someone pack this place with clothes?.. it looks like they've just been bought," Elijah asked out loud, but there was no answer. He managed to put on the pants and was ready to leave when-
BOOM!
The building shook violently, and the force of the explosion made him fall to his knees. "The hell is going on!" Elijah yelled as he rose to his feet and dashed down the hallway. The floor beneath him crumbled, but he managed to grab hold of a piece of wood, dangling in the air. The blazing heat below made it difficult to pull himself up - his body had the strength, he just didn't know how to use it properly.
Tap. Tap.
He heard footsteps below him and saw figures running around, seemingly fighting something. The wood he hung onto suddenly burst, sending Elijah plummeting to the lower floor where a battle raged on. "I'll ask again, which organization are you from?" a young female voice demanded.
"I will die before I-" a male voice began, but was cut off by Elijah's screaming. "Jackson!" the young woman yelled. "Why did I come here!!" Tears streamed down Elijah's face as he yelled.
The flames completely engulfed the building, turning it into a sea of fire. Elijah saw a hand reaching out toward him. He reached back and managed to grab the figure's arm, allowing it to pull him out of the burning building.
Elijah ran toward the church while people across the street watched in fear. Some police officers arrived, wearing black uniforms. Some carried swords on their right sides while others had revolvers at their left waists. "Get in the church now!" the police yelled.
Elijah looked back at the burning building just in time to see a black figure fly out at breakneck speed. He barely caught a glimpse of its face, only making out a white horn wrapped around its head. The police fearlessly ran into the building, but Elijah didn't care to watch - his only concern was his own safety.
He dashed inside the church where some priests went out to help the police. A pope dressed in a black and red uniform approached Elijah. "Come this way, child," the pope announced. Elijah followed as they walked from the lobby to a large bronze door guarded by two bishops.
The bronze door had small intricate details, and the two bishops wore black and white uniforms with white veils covering their faces. They opened the large door, revealing a podium with a massive statue of an angel behind it - an angel with weapons for wings. The pope led Elijah to the podium. "Why did you lead me here?" Elijah exclaimed, but the pope didn't answer. Elijah's legs felt tired, so he sat down on a nearby seat as the pope kneeled on the floor and spoke in an unknown language:
"THE GREAT SYMBOL OF POWER,
THE ALMIGHTY THAT MASTERS ALL WEAPONS,
KING OF ALL KNIGHTS."
As the pope announced these words, Elijah's head pulsed with pain and his vision slowly went blank. He found himself staring into a void, his gaze drawn to a disturbing sight: a throne made from a grim assembly of weapons and bones, with blood oozing from it to form a large, eerie puddle.
The blood rose up to create a human-like form with tall crimson red hair, blood-red eyes, and a body covered in silver armor. The man began speaking in an unknown language before switching to say, "Guess you don't speak Novarian. It's an old language - most people speak the Solarium language now." His gaze met Elijah's, who was terrified and took a few steps back. "Where am I?" Elijah asked. The figure smiled and said, "Looks like you met an old friend of mine."
(Friend of mine? What does he mean by that?) Elijah pondered, his thoughts racing back to the moment of his death. His body quivered as he managed to stammer, "So... I died back then?"
The enigmatic figure drew nearer, speaking in a gentle tone. "The guy you met is an old friend of mine. Did he give you anything?" Elijah's panic persisted, his mind stuck in a loop of disbelief (I died, I died, I died...). He felt as though he was unraveling, his skin seeming to liquefy, and his body ignited into flames. The man observed this with twisted amusement.
Elijah's head began to crack open slowly, and he let out a harrowing scream of agony as tentacle-like appendages sprouted from his fractured skull while his body creaked and twisted. "That's enough of that," the crimson-haired man remarked with sinister satisfaction.
His hands emitted a faint white glow, causing Elijah's tumultuous thoughts to momentarily subside. The tentacles vanished and his shattered head miraculously reassembled. "The pain should be gone," the man said calmly, his tone oddly reassuring. "Here's some advice: avoid being killed again. Each time you die, you slowly go insane. I saved you this time, but the next time won't go so well."
Elijah's mind raced as he tried to process everything. "Did he leave something for you?" the man asked again. Elijah recalled his tormentor - the man in the high-backed chair wearing a black windbreaker over a black suit, holding a black cane adorned with gold and enigmatic symbols. "He didn't give me anything," Elijah answered honestly.
The man paced thoughtfully, rubbing his chin, before stopping abruptly. "You are quite weak for now," he mused, "but an opportunity for strength will come your way. When it does, seize it and never let go." Elijah was perplexed and yearned for clarity, but all he truly wanted was sanctuary from this surreal ordeal.
"If you ever need assistance," the man continued, "call upon me using my honorific name. You'll be staying at the church for the time being, so you needn't worry about your apartment." Elijah's curiosity was piqued. "How did you know about my apartment? It seems obvious, but how do you know?" The man stroked his chin before answering cryptically: "I knew because someone in your apartment had prayed to me."