The story begins somewhere in Mexico in the modern era.
3:00 PM
In a deep jungle a group of archaeologists was exploring a newly found temple, probably dating back to the Aztec period.
They were equipped with all kinds of items and gadgets to analize every inch of the crumbling structure.
The air was thick with incense and dried blood, a completely unnatural mixture for a place that had slept for so long.
Their steps could be heard in all directions as they walked trough a dark alley that split into several chambers.
Most of them were empty.
A cameraman documented everything, scanning the walls for symbols or relics that might tie this place to the ancient Aztecs.
Yet there was a feeling of uneasiness as they wandered the halls.
One of them was leading the way.
A girl.
She wasnt an archaeologist, she was an explorer.
Master in combat, climbing, swimming, driving and survival.
She was born in Scotland.
Her name was Lyra Thornfield.
For her entire life she trained to conquer the most dangerous places in the world.
She was dressed in the stereotypical explorer clothes.
She had a backpack, a torch and a hat so big it made her face hard to see in the distance.
Her physique was well shaped and she looked like she was in her early twenties.
As they approached a room at the end of the hallway, Lyra's curosity was burning brighter.
As they entered, the stench of dried blood was intensifying.
And...
This room was different from the rest of the facility.
The walls were smeared with demonic symbols and strange drawings. The floor was scattered with fully melted down candles. A black table sat in the middle of the room.
This room wasn't Aztec. It looked like it had been built later than the rest of the facility.
It took them a little over 40 seconds to realize that it was full of skeletons.
Completely decomposed corpses were laying on the floor not too distant from the entrance. Dozens of them.
Their skulls completely broken.
One of them screamed.
(Of course it wasn't Lyra)
It was the cameraman.
He quickly recomposed himself and started recording the horrible scene.
They all were intrigued by what could have happened in that room.
It was an important discovery.
'A group of archaeologists found an Aztec temple full of corpses.'
Of course that would have been all over the news.
But something felt wrong.
Lyra frowned.
"But where does the blood smell come from..?"
She asked.
"Those corpses are atleast a few decades old. Maybe more."
They all thought an animal died inside the temple, but there was no sign of it.
Still it was no time to doubt.
They kept exploring the room as it was really huge and dark.
After what seemed like 5 minutes of searching in the room, one of them found a weird artifact on the floor.
"Guys- look what i found!"
It was glowing red, and looked like a small sealed jar.
Inside there was a floating fluorescent sphere, completely still.
No sound, no movement.
They then realized that the stench was coming from that thing.
They gave a good look at it but no one dared to pick it up.
Then Lyra said:
"Ive never seen something like this, what the hell is that...."
"This must be highly valuable, imagine what its worth-"
Said the cameraman, as he leaned down to pick it up.
It was really heavy and no one expected it.
The cameraman was surprised and tried to hold it for as long as possible...
CRACK.
The jar shattered, leaving pieces all over the place.
A dense red fog covered the whole room...
Now the smell of dried blood was so intense that they all started throwing up in disgust...
"Wh..what did you do!!???" Said Lyra in pure shock.
Their mind then started to feel heavy.
Their bodies weakened.
They all fainted.
They didn't know what they had released upon the world.
An ancient magic.
A magic connected to ancient demons.
From now on, any human on the planet who commits murder, receives a curse, that gives them a supernatural ability based on the murder they commit.
But this wasn't only beneficial, because the curse would twist their mind and make them rot from the inside.
At the time all of this was still unknown.
Meanwhile In Japan...
6:00 AM
A 22 year old boy dressed in a hoodie and jeans was driving in his rusted car trough a deep forest.
His name was Isael Serrano.
Born in Mexico but raised in Japan.
He worked as a delivery guy and learned 3 different martial arts since he was 10.
His path though had begun with a trauma.
At 6 years he witnessed a murder.
His father, who was violent and drunk and had always abused his family, shot and killed Isael's mother in front of him while she was pregnant,and fled.
This deeply affected Isael's character and forged hate inside of his hearth.
It hardened it.
He remembered that day very well...
His parents arguing, as his father pulled out a gun and shot his mother right on the forehead.
The disgusting and metallic smell of blood.
His own mother's blood.
An entire pool of it.
The sounds of the ambulance.
This resulted in him getting adopted by another family.
Still to this day he feels hatred towards his father, but he swore to himself not to get revenge.
This was to avoid becoming like his father.
As Isael drove trough the forest, he was following the directions of his GPS to get the delivery done.
6:22 AM
A loud pop occurred.
His car's left tire broke.
"Damn it!" He shouted.
"Where the hell am i gonna get a new tire out there??!
He tried to fix it in any way, but the only things he had were a steel wrench and a camping tent with some food.
He tried to call for help with his phone but the line didnt work.
With no other choice, he opened the tent and started cooking some food. Defeated.
His mind full of negative thoughts.
"How am i gonna deliver the box..."
"How am i gonna get back home...."
The smell of the food quickly spread over the forest.
6:47 AM
SNAP .
Isael started hearing weird noises.
Branches breaking and leaves moving, something in the forest was observing him, quietly.
He tried to ignore the noises, but whoever was there, was starting to get closer.
CLICK.
He started shivering as he turned his neck and noticed tall figure, with a mask on the face and a gun pointed at him.
A thief...in the middle of the forest.....
"Give me everything you have, including that huge box in the car."
Said the thief without moving an inch.
Isael was completely stunned, but he knew that he had to act quickly.
He noticed that the thiefs hand were shaking. Nervous.
That meant he was scared too.
Probably his first robbery.
Isael slowly walked to his car, following the thief's instructions.
Fortunately, he had a bunch of items in his car .
He started picking up a bunch of them, as the thief was roaming over him, ready to take the shot if anything happened.
Isael had the perfect plan to escape the situation.
He needed to wait for the perfect chance.
As soon as he finished picking up things, he got out of the car slowly and started leaving them on the grass.
As soon as the thief got closer to inspect them and lowered his guard, Isael quickly blinded him with a flashlight he picked in the car.
He dashed and tried to disarm the thief.
The thiefs reflexes were good though...
Thats what adrenaline does...
BANG.
A flash....the smell of gunpowder and blood....
The thief had accidentally shot himself, trying to resist.
Isael started getting flashback of his childhood.
The same smell...he had done the same mistake has his father...or did he? It was the thief who shot himself...
It wasnt his fault....
The thief fell to the ground, trying to breathe...
The bullet hit him directly into the chest....
Isael was too shocked to do anything....
His mind started blurring.....
"N..no i...i didnt do t...this....."
He fainted....
7:56 AM
Isael started hearing a voice, after a while...
"Y..you awake?"
His eyes shot open.
A completely white figure, with no facial features stood in front of him.
Isael screamed, scrambling backwards.
"W..wait no..i dont want to hurt you! Well...not anymore.."
Said the figure quickly...
"Y..you are not real!"
Said Isael panicking, eyes wide, breath short..
The figure tried to calm him.
"Its me...that guy you see laying dead...its me"
Isael's mind paused.
"Y..you mean you are a ghost?"
Isael had gained the ability to talk with the dead...but was it only that?
That was the doing of the seal that broke...of the ancient magic...
Isael had killed someone without meaning to..and received an ability...
The figure nodded...
"You passed out. Been out cold for over an hour."
"Over an hour!??!?" Isael gasped
"Yeah...i tried leaving. Or getting to some sort of underworld..but it seems im stuck with you. My killer"
Isael realized it was him who killed the thief....
"Im sorry for killing you...but you tried to rob me...and you had a gun."
The thief scoffed...
"Yeah well...i had my own reasons."
"I dont understand....how is this even possible..."
"Is this..some kind of curse?"
Isael whispered.
He then quickly looked around...
The world felt off.
The ghost was following him around like a shadow.
"So uhm....what are we going to do now? How should i handle the fact...that i can talk with a ghost..."
The thief gave a dry chuckle.
"Dont ask me, im still shocked too...but thankfully you haven't seen me crying...when i discovered i was dead."
"So uhm...whats your name?"
Said Isael...still guilty for his act..
"Im Kenji...Or i was, Whats yours..?"
"My name is..Isael..."
Kenji looked at him...
"So....Isael, what are we going to do with this...situation?"
Isael thought for a moment, then picked up the box he was meant to deliver.
"I have to finish this delivery. But if you let me... I'll help you find a way to move on. To the underworld. Or wherever you're supposed to go."
Kenji sighed.
"I don't think there is a way. But... sure. Not like I've got much choice."
Isael nodded, still shaken, but determined.
"There might be a place. I've heard stories... maybe we'll find answers there."
Kenji gave a half-smile.
"I hope you're right. This is my only shot."
TO BE CONTINUED