The two of them were stopped dead in their tracks upon entering the church, their eyes immediately directed to the ceiling.
The entire space had been altered. Oak pews clung to the walls, hanging sideways as if placed there by magnets. Stained windows had been shifted onto the ground while stone angel statues poked down from the domed roof, staring down at them from the heavens. To the front of the church, where the altar once sat, paintings feathered out from a central point like an illusion.
In the middle of it all, sitting comfortably on a throne of marble and yellowing pillars, was Spoons.
"What the-" Tilluan glared around at the jumbled objects, mouth gaping.
"You guys took longer than usual to get here," Spoons said, arms folded casually across his chest. "I felt kind of silly sitting in the middle of all this by myself."
"What happened?!" Tilluan exclaimed, stepping into the open space and taking it all in. "Did you do this?!"
Lazzir was just as shocked as Tilluan. When he had previously described Spoons's Angel ability, she never imagined that it had the capacity to create something so labyrinthine. All the pieces that once made up the inside of the church were completely altered, moved, or reconstructed like an intricate puzzle.
Spoons sighed and stood from his seat, the materials that were stacked to create it scattering out as he stepped away. Stone and shards of pillar crawled away right before their eyes, reassembling into the objects from which they came.
"Mai told me to come up with something different for Lazzir's training tonight," Spoons explained. "So, this is it."
Tilluan stared at the ceiling in amazement. "Does the training involve getting the pews back down from the walls?"
"No," Spoons chuckled. Lazzir was beginning to think he was dragging out the suspense on purpose. "It's an arena. Can't you see it?"
Once he said it, she was able to piece it together in her mind. The pews were lined and stacked along the walls, facing the heart of the room like the seats of a colosseum. The stained windows on the floor were formed in a rugged circle around where they were standing, and tall pillars were carefully placed all around the edge of the space to create the illusion of a closed-in stadium.
"It's been a while since I created something like this," Spoon's admitted, placing a hand on his hip and looking at Lazzir. "I thought it would make for a cool training space. I know you're a fighter and all, but I've got something different planned tonight."
At that point, Lazzir was willing to do anything it took to trigger her Angel ability. Just earlier, before arriving, she was able to manifest a Spirit into the Physical Realm. Tilluan had been raving about it the rest of the way there, insisting that what she had done was nearly impossible for a new Angel.
Maybe her luck would continue and she'd finally obtain her ability through whatever Spoons had planned.
Nervous but excited, she couldn't help but grin. "Let's see what you've got."
Spoons steadily raised his arms, moving them in a windmill-like motion away from his body. As he did, the room began to shift. The stained windows on the floor started to turn, and tall marble and stone squares rose from the ground. Everything seemed to slide around on the walls, pews, statues, and paintings blending together at a rhythmic pace. For some reason, it reminded her of the inside of a clock.
Lazzir steadied herself as the ground below her shifted little by little. Her eyes darted, searching for Spoons to explain what she was seeing. At that moment, she realized even Tilluan had disappeared from sight.
"Let's see how you handle this," Spoon's voice echoed across the ceiling.
Between sharply moving pieces and momentary gaps in the mechanism, she could see that he had moved to the other side of the room. Or, maybe it was she who had been displaced and pushed away. It was impossible to tell in the jumbled mess.
"Alright, Laz, try and come at me."
----
Todotori struggled to stay awake. Driving the truck he'd stolen from the now-cleared warehouse, he headed for the destination of his next mission. He'd tried to argue with Halo when she insisted that he travel to Ralet Tower, a building owned and regulated by the richest family in Renu, but she simply threatened him until he complied. What she expected him to do inside the headquarters of the greediest, most conspiratorial business in the city, he had no idea.
"It's time you met my other pets," was what she had said. "I think you'll get along marvelously."
Before long, the old truck was parked in a lot across the street from the looming tower. The streets were dead, and there wasn't a single light coming from any of the surrounding business buildings. The wind whistled through the empty lot as he headed for the front door, following the instructions Halo had given before she vanished.
It was eerie. The main entrance to the dark building was left unlocked for him to stroll inside. The corridor was ginormous; tall, square columns lined the space, and several wide hallways branched off. Todotori remained alert as he made his way for the elevator at the end of the desolate room, and upon entering the metal doors, he pressed the button for the highest floor. The ride to the top took nearly an entire minute. Soft pings rang out as he traversed seventy-three floors before the heavy metal doors slid open again and led him directly into the crown suite.
"Good evening," a honeyed voice snaked across the cold air before he even stepped out of the elevator. "You made it here in fair timing."
The night sky illuminated the space through a window spanning the entire opposite wall. The space was open, with minimal furniture or decoration, appearing more like a prison than the top-floor office of an affluent operation. On the other side of a sizable carved desk, a man sat on a lavishly cushioned chair.
"Todotori, right? I was wondering when I was going to get to meet you," the man said. "According to Halo, you should be much more useful to me than the previous knucklehead."
The man's features were obscure at a distance, though his deep lilac eyes seemed to cut through the darkness like a beam. Todotori stepped forward with caution.
As he grew closer, the man's face became visible. He recognized him almost immediately, though he looked much younger in person.
"My name is Rene," he extended his hand across the desk in welcome.
Rene Ralet. He was the youngest son of the Ralet family, a famously wealthy businessman who inherited the company's fortunes upon the death of both his parents and all of his older siblings.
Todotori stared at the young executive's hand, unmoving and utterly silent. After a few moments, Rene became visibly uncomfortable, clearing his throat and retracting the handshake, brushing the rejection off on his chest.
"Well, I can see you're the brooding, silent type," he sneered. "That's fine. I suppose it's better than someone who won't quit running their mouth. Of course, you're probably being cautious because Halo didn't explain why you're here."
It was true. Todotori was holding his cards as close to his chest as possible, knowing that it would be a grave mistake to trust that Halo had sent him there for an innocent meetup. There was a hidden agenda, a goal that he could eventually discern if he were careful enough.
Standing from his seat, Rene straightened his suit and smoothed out his dark hair. He walked over to the giant window behind him, staring out over the lightless city below.
"I've known Halo for about a year now, and she's never been one to explain things clearly. Since you've likely been walking in the dark this whole time, allow me to be the one that shines a light on the situation," he began, giving Todotori a short glance. "You have been sent here because I, too, am an Angel that has been bound to the Shadow that calls herself Halo."
Slowly, Rene lifted the edge of his sleeve, revealing a bold, black mark on the inside of his right wrist.
'V.'
"She expects the two of us to work together," Rene continued, readjusting his sleeve to cover the Angel mark once more. "In fact, there are two others like us that she wishes to tie together in a sort of team. One of the others is on their way now, and you'll meet her soon, but I wanted to be the first to set my eyes on you."
The young man stepped forward, inching closer and closer to Todotori until they stood nearly face to face. Rene stared into him with scheming violet eyes, something clearly calculating deep in his mind.
"I really just want to know one thing," he said. "How did someone like you kill someone like Chihara?"
Todotori hadn't forgotten that name. That eight-foot beast with freakish strength wasn't something he would fail to recall, especially when facing him meant nearly losing his own life.
"I guess got lucky," was all he replied.
Rene examined him as if imagining the encounter in his mind. After a moment, he cracked a smile. "Right, and I'm sure you walked away completely unscathed as well. Or did the injuries that followed require the assistance of a certain Shadow?" he mocked.
He was much sharper than Todotori expected, piecing the entire situation together almost all on his own. It was obvious that Rene was familiar with how Halo operated and had been working with her for quite some time. However, he wasn't done prying for details.
"Now, I have another question for you: what kind of covenant did you form with our lovely Halo?"
"What do you mean?"
"The agreement you made," Rene simplified, "it's called a covenant. I'm just curious what you gained from the arrangement. For example, I first lent Halo my power in exchange for ownership of my family's business. The next morning, my entire family had mysteriously died, and I was left to take over the company... along with all of its assets."
It was known throughout Renu that the Ralet family tragedy was what led to Rene's quick rise to power, and speculations had already circulated, claiming that it was planned. There was never any evidence that Rene had done it himself, and the true culprit was never found. Who would have guessed that a ghost had committed the murders?
As for Todotori's own covenant, as Rene called it, he wasn't sure what he'd truly gained. He was alive, of course, but at what cost? At that moment, nearing death, there was something that he deemed valuable enough to relinquish control of his own body, but it was too hazy to recall.
What had he given it all up for?
"That's fine, you don't have to tell me," Rene said, glaring with suspicion. "It doesn't really matter anyway. What's important is that you and I are alike, tethered to the same Shadow until death do us part."
Todotori's thoughts were still scattered, though he knew what Rene was getting at. The partnership he was being forced into was less than ideal. He hated the rich almost as much as he hated the scum, and he'd been made to deal with both in one night.
Suddenly, the doors to the elevator clanged open behind them, and the light from inside shone onto the floor, creating an elongated shadow across the room. Without hesitation, the passenger strutted towards them, a massive grin plastered across her face.
"Rene!" the woman blurted. "I've missed you!"
Rene immediately turned and opened his arms, embracing her in welcome. "I just saw you yesterday, my love."
"I know, but I still missed you!"
She turned, still holding Rene by her side, as she looked at Todotori. Her face lit up, beaming blue eyes staring right at him. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, her engaging smile and delightful manner rivaling that of famous movie stars. However, as soon as she began speaking, her rattling voice gave rise to a striking headache.
"You're the new Angel, right? I've heard so much about you, but I had no idea you'd be such a cutie pie!" the woman exclaimed, flipping a lock of bright vermillion hair over her shoulder as she examined him. "I'm Amira, Rene's girlfriend and the eighth Angel. Eight is the number of abundance, you know."
She offered a handshake, which Rene quickly swatted away before Todotori could dismiss her for himself.
"Right, let's get on with it, shall we?" Rene walked toward his desk, Amira still at his hip. "As the newest member of our little group, there are a few things you need to be caught up on. Come, have a seat."
He signaled to one of the elegant guest chairs next to his workspace and took a seat like before, Amira daintily propping herself on the corner of the desk beside him. Despite his instinct to retain caution, Todotori was relieved to finally sit down, his fatigue growing as the conversation dragged on. He would have collapsed long ago if it weren't for his curiosity.
"I'm going to get straight to the point," Rene began. "Amira and I have been Angels for quite some time, working with Halo to build our empire within the city. In total, there were five of us pets. Before you killed Chihara, we all cooperated to achieve a common goal: eradicating the other seven Angels. According to Halo, when an Angel is killed by another Angel, their mark is wiped away completely, and their power amplifies that of their killer. So far, our group has been able to dispose of the ninth and tenth Angels this way."
Todotori fought to keep it straight in his head. "So, you're hunting down the remaining five Angels to build your own power," he repeated, crossing his arms. "If that's the case, why keep me alive? Before now, I wasn't a part of your little club."
"It's simple," Rene stated with a smirk. "Halo had to test you first. Since she's decided that you're actually useful to us, you get to live. Congratulations."
He had been tested, alright.
It was then that Todotori wondered what abilities Rene and Amira had that Halo also deemed worthwhile. As he'd recently discovered, his own ability was grossly destructive and savage, leaving behind a chain of despair everywhere he went. If the two of them had similar powers, he would have to be careful not to cause any waves until he knew their weaknesses.
Piecing it together gradually in his mind, there were still many gaps in Rene's explanation.
"What about the other two people in your little group?" Todotori asked. "I thought you said there were five of us."
"Well, one is tending to business from her home region and won't be able to rejoin us for at least another week," he replied, leaning back in his chair and resting his hand on Amira's knee. "The other has been missing for a few days, disappearing the same night you inherited your mark. He's certainly dead, considering it is impossible to escape Halo's guidance. As soon as nightfall comes, she can find any of us, no matter where we are."
Amira chimed in, that uncanny grin permanently stamped on her face. "It's alright, though. We will find the person who inherited his mark and kill them," she beamed.
Rene subtly squeezed her by the leg and cut her a censured glance before nodding to Todotori. "The first Angel is the one who has gone missing. We are working on hunting them down at the moment, and it is something that Halo insists we do quickly. She claims that there is something special about the first Angel mark, though the one who had it last never demonstrated any Angel abilities."
"This gets more complicated by the minute," Todotori yawned, slouching even farther into his chair. "So, what? You want me to help you find the new first Angel guy? Do you even know where they ran off to?"
"Not exactly, no. However, there is one other Angel that we have been able to track into the city. She's a sneaky one, but we have potentially found where she has been living."
"Who exactly is we?" Just by looking at them, Todotori could tell Rene and Amira weren't the type to do the dirty work themselves.
A chuckle slipped from Rene's lips, and he leaned towards him. "You're a pretty smart one, aren't you? I can see why Halo favors you so much," he said. "I have a group of men working for me behind the scenes. They're a bit rugged and a bit dense, but if you give the scum a dime, they'll do just about anything."
Employing scum to do investigations? Perhaps Rene was the one who was dense.
"Either way, the situation will be resolved soon. Once we confirm the Angel is actually living there, Halo wants you to be the one to kill her. She says your skills are more fit for the task, whatever that means." He paused, looking Todotori up and down with a meticulous squint in his eye. "What is your ability, anyway?"
Todotori glanced down at his hands. In truth, he wasn't sure how to answer that question. Halo had described it as radiation, but he didn't fully understand what that meant. It was as if everyone he touched or grew near to was instantly diseased, decaying while still alive and suffering an excruciating end.
Watching him as he failed to find an accurate description, Rene quickly gave up on the inquiry and deferred with a sigh. "Never mind, we will get to see it for ourselves soon enough," he said, finally standing from his chair and rolling his shoulders back in a stretch. "For now, that is all the information Halo told me to provide. In the next few days, she will be assisting me in hunting down the first Angel. You might not see much of our friendly Shadow until the end of the week. That's when we will plan our attack on the Angel we do know about."
"Aw, man!" Amira hopped up from the desk and pouted at Rene. "Is the meeting over already? You didn't ask enough questions. We barely learned anything about our new friend!"
Although young, the Ralet family heir carried a riddling and intimidating aura. It was as if he knew nothing and everything, a masterful game of poker always taking place in his mind. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to unlock all of his secrets.
Rene glared at Todotori once more.
"He's one of us now," he stated harrowingly. "What more is there to know?"
----
Stone hit from the side, shoving with such intensity that it sent her body nearly halfway across the room. Tumbling back, Lazzir struggled onto her feet. Sweat formed miniature streams down the sides of her face, her breath going ragged.
"That's cheating!" she screamed across the room, her voice bouncing off of stone pillars, pews, statues, and paintings that were whirling around the room at a quickening pace.
"No, it's not!" Spoons responded from somewhere else within the maze. "You should've seen it coming."
Gritting her teeth, she sprinted into the mess once more. After over three hours of the madness, she'd mostly grown used to the walls' attacks, dodging and hurdling stone objects that randomly protruded as she passed. Everything was moving, the pattern constantly changing, and it all reset again every time she messed up.
Spoons had essentially created an active labyrinth, tasking Lazzir with finding her way to him without getting hit by any moving objects. It seemed simple at first; however, the longer she spent within his mechanism, the faster the walls would change. Inside, anything was considered a weapon: paintings, pillars, pews—all of it was liable to burst through the floor at any second and trip her up.
"I can't see anything!" Lazzir grunted as she jumped over a pew that sprang up from the ground before her.
As she rounded the next corner, a painting of a dove swung at head level, and she immediately slid on her knees in evasion. Without missing a beat, she scrambled upright again and pushed along the maze. She squeezed through crushing pillars that jutted unexpectedly from the gliding walls, completely relying on instinct as she jumped over gaps in the marble floor below.
Running faster and dodging quicker than she had ever done before, Lazzir hated to admit that she was actually happy to be struggling. It was stimulating, something completely different from any training she'd ever done, and, unlike the day before, she wasn't angry whenever she failed. In fact, she was enjoying the challenge.
Lazzir could tell she was closer to the finish than her other attempts. The pattern in the maze was becoming clearer, everything moving rapidly, faster and faster. She dodged and rolled and slid and ran over and over.
It was impossible to withhold a satisfied chuckle as she pressed even farther past her limit. "I've figured it out now!" she shouted as she ducked under a flying obstacle.
Spinning around the corner, Lazzir's eye caught Spoons for a split second before a marble half-wall materialized in front of her. She vaulted over the barrier, chasing him down. Although he was evading her, he wasn't running. Instead, more walls, columns, and statues seemed to materialize out of nowhere, creating distance between the two. The objects masked Spoons's true location, but she refused to dull her pace.
The pattern began changing. New obstacles began generating from the walls while the floor started sloping in different directions. Pews and statues began hurling down from the roof, seemingly appearing out of nowhere and crashing into the ground before disappearing again. It was as if Lazzir were sprinting through an illusion, the new sequence of attacking stones causing her to think twice before making a move.
She never imagined she could achieve such a level of versatility. She was forever adapting, constantly attuning her mind to the changing surroundings. It was like an awakening.
Running along the side of a slanted wall, Lazzir scaled one last barrier before her prey was in plain sight. Standing defenseless nearly two yards away, Spoons looked up at her as she descended to the ground, her fist ready.
"Gotcha!"
Grinning down at him, she prepared her final attack to end the game.
However, as she plummeted toward him, extending her knuckle toward his face, he abruptly vanished behind a thick stone wall. Unable to stop herself, Lazzir's full momentum went ramming into the massive rock fist-first as her feet hit the ground.
Every bone vibrated, her arm creating a shockwave throughout her body as it remained planted in the stone. Panting and exhausted, she finally collapsed to her knees.
"That was a close one," Spoons's deep voice rang out once more, announcing her defeat like the narrator of an arcade game. As he spoke, everything around her stopped moving, and he appeared around the corner of the wall. "I had to improvise there towards the end."
Lazzir looked down at her bloody, lacerated hand, then back to the wall in front of her. There was a fist-sized wound in the heart of the stone, a long crack running upwards from it and to the very top of the barrier. Her fist had fractured the thick tablet as if it were made of glass.
"Did I do that?" she asked, astonished. After training most of her life, it was no surprise that her attacks carried force. However, breaking a stone wall was completely inhuman.
"And to think you were going to punch me in the face like that," Spoons said, walking closer to get a better look. "I'm glad I put that wall up, or I'd probably be dead."
"I... didn't mean to," she muttered, bewildered. Glaring down at her hand once more, the blood dripped from her knuckle and onto the floor. After thinking for a moment, she looked up at Spoons. "Do you think I finally triggered my Angel ability?"
It was entirely possible. She had never demonstrated such strength in her entire life, and just before the maze ended, she was moving at a speed much faster than normal. Perhaps something had triggered. Perhaps she wasn't a dud after all.
Spoons rubbed his chin, contemplating. "I don't know," he replied, skepticism in his tone. "Usually, when an Angel's ability pertains to strength, it's at a much higher level than this."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'm pretty sure you did that with raw strength," he explained. "After seeing your fight with Mai yesterday, it's clear to me that you're not just an average fighter."
Rolling her eyes as she slumped back, she used her palms to hold herself upright. "I lost yesterday, and I lost today, too. Not only that, but I still don't have the magical superpowers the rest of you freaks have. At this point, I don't think I ever will."
It was frustrating, infuriating even. After training for hours and getting her ass kicked around by inanimate objects, Lazzir still felt the same as before.
"Would it really be so bad if you didn't?" Spoons asked, interrupting her moment of self-pity.
Looking up at him, she was surprised by his reaction. "What are you talking about?"
He didn't answer, but instead turned to the side, avoiding eye contact.
She still had yet to figure Spoons out. He was often cold, but at the same time he seemed to care about her improvement. Reserved, he wouldn't allow her to get a good read on what he was thinking, and his responses were often unpredictable. It reminded her of when she first met Tori, who refused to speak a single word for the first few weeks after they met.
Dusting off her pants as she stood, Lazzir took one last look at the wall before Spoons released it into the ground with a swift wave of his hand. Regardless of the damage she had done, she was still powerless compared to someone like him, who could literally alter the world around him.
Following as he walked away, her head hung low. "How long do you think it will take?" she asked, poorly masking her lingering disappointment.
"I don't know." Shrugging as he beckoned for the church's fixtures to return to their original places, Spoons seemed curiously indifferent about her lack of powers.
"Then, what do we do? Isn't it a bit concerning that it's taking this long?" Lazzir continued to interrogate.
Powers had been promised to her, stunning Angel abilities unlike anything the average person had ever seen, and yet nothing had happened.
"All we can do is try again tomorrow," Spoons sighed.
She couldn't tell if she was angering him, though she didn't really care. After all, his vague responses were dragging her along and amplifying her own internal outrage.
Lazzir clenched her fists. "Well, what am I supposed to-"
"Why do you want to have powers anyway?" Spoons cut, turning his head back just enough to glare at her through the corner of his eye. "What do you plan to do with them?"
"I... I haven't really thought of that yet-"
"What have you been doing with the strength you already have? Have you been using your talent to help others, or have you been fighting for your own selfish reasons?" His voice suddenly took a more serious tone.
Taken aback, she couldn't find the words for an answer. What had she been fighting for? At first, she fought for survival, competing with the rats and dogs for scraps along the streets as a child. Recently, she simply fought for money and recognition. Never once had she thought of fighting for someone else. Her strength was her own, and she'd earned it through great effort. If others wanted to fight, they had to learn how, just as she did.
Staring into his discerning eyes, Lazzir now realized how heartless her logic truly was. Why did she want an Angel ability? In that moment, she wasn't entirely sure.
Spoons shook his head, the tenseness of his bearing finally relaxing as his point had been made. He'd clearly taken her silence as an answer.
"That's what I thought," he said, stepping away. "Until you learn to fight for something other than yourself, you could gain all the power in the world and still be useless."