Richard's memories suddenly flood his head as he charged towards the bane of the planet: the 0-frag. He remebers the peaceful days eight years ago, and the pathetic, dull and simple days he had. Then, it all changed when meet the stone "August" and the day of the "Bloody August". It just so happened that it was the day that the 0-fragment went berserk. It had not only wrecked their hometown, but also activated "August". Richard vividly remember the grueling scene. He and Arche could not stand the screams of the hundreds being slaughtered. The two had chosen to flee to the mountains, and went straight to what the adults called "forbidden area". It was actually a harbinger meteor fragment crash site. Normally, it was guarded by both townsfolk and government alike. However, with all of the commotion, they have all either retreated or went to town, and had a bad meeting with fate.
Richard isn't the only kid there, and it just so happened that Arche led other children to the site. Once they reached the meteorite fragment core, Richard had felt a draft. He heard the words " null restriction, code: one" and asked him a simple request:
"please touch the stone"
It was ridiculous to ask an adult such a request. However, Richard was not even past his teen years, and even far from being an adult. Curiosity had led him to go further, and even following the voice's command. Arche, noticing that Richard was nowhere near the other kids, followed him, and stopped his hand.
"Dad said don't touch things that you don't understand" said Arche.
"Ah... B...but..."
"Just don't touch it, okay?"
"If you say so, Arche"
It would have seem that Arche had already felt an ominous feeling. Richard isn't such a miscreant as to disobey an adult, and was even timid to boot. Upon going back to the others, screams echoed the rocky walls. It sent knives down their skin, slicing any bravery left in their bodies. Their legs froze like ice, and tears and mucus had flown down their eyes and nostrils. Both of them could not believed what they see next as they heard a gurgling noise approaching them as it went to where they were. The could not muster enough courage to walk, but had too much fear to shout. It was only by instinct that they ran like mice on a sinking boat. Soon after, they had reached the core once again, and also the excavation site's end. Richard punched the nearby wall with such force that it his hand bled. The pain was obvious, but his attempt of removing fear through pain had worked. The gurgling noise had stopped, as if recognizing a potential prey. Richard hears the same voice:
"Please touch the stone"
Richard did not hesitate to touch the nearby stone, though nothing happened. He was dumbfounded, and heard the same request. He kept on touching every stone on the walls whenever he heard the same request:
"please touch the stone"
It was, however, a bit too late. The monstrosity that had creeping up on them lurked from the walls to the ceiling, and then lunged towards Arche. It was dark, but you could tell that it was large, long limbed, and most definitely not human, though it did stand like one. Arche had dodged as fast as he could. He leapt to the rightmost wall, and dodged the monstrosity's elongated limb. The enemy used its limb to reel itself nearer to Arche. He responded with a roll to his left, while dodging the nearby jagged rocks.
"I'll keep it busy, Rich! Get out of here!"
Richard did not exactly respond. He hoped that when he touches the right rock, it would save them. Of course, Arche couldn't dodge forever. He was eventually pinned down with the monster's forelimbs, and seemed like it enjoyed it's game of cat and mouse. It slowly raised its right arm, and shaped it like a rapier for stabbing. Richard picked up a stone with his injured right hand, and threw it to the enemy, hitting what would pass as its head, and successfully averting it's attention to him rather than Arche.
"Get away, Arche!"
Richard picked up another stone with his injured hand. He then heard the voice again, but this time, it was his own, in a different tone. it seemed like he finally succeeded to fulfill the task. The stone did not feel any weight, and it was shaped like a larger version of a teardrop
"Finally! Geez, you're an idiot!" said the Stone
"Null restriction, code: two"
"synchronization complete"
The monster became increasingly agitated, and kept screeching and gurgling as it ran towards Richard. It was obvious that the activation had caused its behavior. The creature lunged towards Richard, trying to end it as fast as possible. It did not turn out as it desired as Arche immediately dashed, and leapt to tackle the enemy. It had knocked the monster over to several rocks, and temporarily stunned it and Arche, who ricocheted to the nearby wall. Richard wanted to save Arche, however, his fear had once again taken over his senses. He could not move a centimeter. However, the voice kept talking to him.
"So...do you want to save your buddy over there, kid?"
Richard could only respond with a terrified nod. His tears and snot just seemed to never end. His legs trembled and his hands were frozen yet again. He couldn't muster enough courage and strength to punch a rock again. However, his desire to save Arche was the only thing that kept him going, and it is the same that the stone responded to.
"Make an oath with me" said the stone
The trembling child could not physically answer, but in his mind, he definitely said "yes"
"Swear that you shall grant me form, and I shall lend you my power, until I finish my mission"
Richard finally saw a glimpse of hope. He did not doubt this "miracle", and immediately said yes, using a nod to answer.
"Richard H. Sagese, we are now bound by fate"
" Null restriction, code: three"
"contract formed"
"Now, kid, since we're out of options, we're going to pick the closest material that we'll use"
Richard wasn't exactly sure which, and he did not have the leisure of time. The enemy was already readying itself to strike again. It ran as fast as it possibly could, towards Richard, as if angered by the stone's activation. Richard, still petrified from the action, gripped the stone as hard as he could, hoping that it'd protect him. The stone glowed blood-red.
"Null restriction, code: four"
"selected deoxyribonucleic acid as base"
In an instand, several spikes impaled the monster, ones that came from Richard's bruises and cuts, and most especially, his right hand. The monster instantly screamed in pain and anguish, and fell down, and remained motionless. It's chest and forehead areas crackled, and then crumbled, and sounded like something shattered along its death.
Seeing that the monster is dead, he immediately ran towards Arche and carried him with his back. He ketp the stone in his shorts, and though of the next best action. The stone stopped glowing, too, as if signaling that it is unable to speak at the moment.
He headed to the previous group's area in the meteor, clinging to hope that some survived like them. Fate was very cruel to the others, however. It had seemed like most of the children are dead, or barely living, with missing limbs, and several stabs and lacerations in their bodies. It was a sight that turns anyone's stomach turn. The stone, however, responded differently.
"Kid, I have to recharge. Since you're an idiot and blindly picked 'DNA' as your catalyst, I have to feed on that."
Richard, as young as he is, couldn't understand what the stone just said. The stone requested that it be put down in the center of the massacre. Richard blindly followed, curious of the next event that he'd see.
"Kid, don't look"
What had normally meant by "don't look" usually meant bad, but curiosity leveled too high against self-control. Richard could not believe his eyes when he saw the stone 'feed' on the corpses. Blood seeped out of every possible wound that the dead had. It was like watching an orange being juiced. Richard vomits upon seeing the gruesome fluids shred out, and then drained by the stone he though would save the people he left behind.
"Kid, I told you not to look" said the stone.
"from now on, you are to call me 'August', in respect to the month that you and I became bound by fate"
Richard's fear had obviously come back, feeding on the images he had just seen. The faintest hope that he had was lying on the stone that called itself 'August'. He had no choice but to rely on the devilish magics that 'August' had. On the other hand, he doesn't wish to even fight, let alone save the world. His only desire was to flee the scourge before him. He did not want to go back to the home he once knew, and neither did he want the only survivor of the attack be in harm's way.
"Okay, Richard, put that kid down. I'll do something about his wounds"
Richard had space to doubt August. Not only did it kill monsters with blood spears, but also drained the blood out of corpses. This time, he shook his head. He refused an order, and held Arche's hands and feet tightly.
"oh for the love of... Just put him down for a sec. I can't kill something if you don't want me to, idiot. Why'd you think I didn't kill that brat if he'd slow us down so much?"
"I...but... "
"I told you, I'd share my power to you in return for borrowing your frame, right?"
"um... Y.... Yes..."
"you know, your chosen 'power' lets you transfuse blood and use blood to close wounds"
"trans-fi-yoose?"
"damn, why'd I get a kid, anyways. Agh, this is gonna be hard"
It was two hours past midnight when the government had arrived on the scene. Countless bodies and limbs scattered across the entire area. Any normal person could easily wonder why such genocide would not leave any trace of blood, an even drained every single corpse. The authorities had labeled the criminal as a sort of vampire. It was unnatural, like the previous disasters. and so, it was the day called "zero-blood" or more known as "Bloody August".
The current Richard had not forgotten what he swore that day, and his reason for living was decided. He vowed to never again allow a massacre like the "bloody August" happen again.
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