[CW: Mention of War, Mention of Abuse, Religious Trauma, blood, death, implied stabbing, manipulation, prophecies, apocalypse, a LOT OF INTENTIONALLY OUT OF CONTEXT STUFF. YOU'LL GET CONTEXT LATER.]
Innovation, technological district.
Apartment of David Builder.
A young man with curly brown hair and a sword at his hip paced around the living room of his best friends apartment, arms crossed with an expression that said he was more anxious than simply energetic.
Sitting on the sofa off to his side was David Builder, the owner of the apartment and best friend in question, holding a cup of coffee and looking up at the man he'd known since he was very young, lending a listening ear to the distress of the younger man.
"What am I supposed to do about this, David? I'm not some war hero! I don't even want to fight these people, we should just negotiate terms and be done with it!" He spoke with his hands, his intonation both exasperated and terrified.
John Shedletsky, Born and raised in the Warriors town of Swordhilt Grove tucked away in the Scabbard hills, trained under the most renowned Swordswoman in all of Codexa, only survivor of the murder of his entire clan, had just found out he'd be going to war..
And despite having a love for Sword play, and enjoying a good fight here and there, he was never one for thinking War was really necessary... Least of all Wars as stupid as this one.
But it wasn't necessarily the fighting that had him in such a panicked state, nor was it the war itself much as he didn't want to be fighting in it.
Rather, It was what he'd been told by his mentor, Vera Steelburn, his entire life.
"Unfortunately, John, That ain't how things work, I mean.. This ain't just some ordinary dispute, we're talkin' about a war that centers the very foundations of our being." David spoke calmly, trying to give an objective and logical response to Shed's emotional and illogical ramblings.
"There ain't really any negotiatin' somethin' like that."
Shed stopped for a moment, running his hand through his hair.
"I know, I just-it isn't even the war that's getting to me! I've already mostly grappled with that, there isn't anything I can do about the fact that I have to go fight." David tilted his head as Shed spoke, taking a sip of his coffee.
"Then what IS bothering you so badly?"
Shed hugged himself, black and gold wing twitching gently, usually (and currently) a sign of his emotions.
He looked at David, then turned his gaze to the floor, golden eyes staring down at the Grey carpet before closing whilst he took a shaky breath.
David sat up slightly straight, somewhat sure he knew what Shed was talking about, but not entirely concrete.
"Vera. What if Vera was right?"
David hated that he knew Shed so well sometimes.
"She's rarely correct about anything, but in this instance, what are you worried about her being right about?"
Shed turned to David, then began pacing again, hugging himself as he did so.
"The Prophecy, the one she's been rubbing in my face for my entire life.
'A golden Nephilim shall stand at the end of time, Heralding our doom and the end of our world.'
What if she's right about that being me?"
David sighed, setting his coffee down and sitting a bit farther forward on the sofa, looking up at Shed's scruffy face.
"John, you know I ain't a religious man, Hell, by now I'm pretty certain that the gods ain't my biggest fans.. But even if I were, I wouldn't think you were some Herald Of the End times."
David stood, approaching his best friend and taking him gently by the shoulders.
"Vera Steelburn is an abusive, manipulative, madwoman who's used the fact that you were born differently than everyone else as an excuse to torture you the entire time you've been in her care and even beyond... You ain't some omen of the end times, you're just a man."
Shed looked into the eyes of his friend, before pulling him into a hug and exhaling through his nose.
"I don't know what I'd do without you or the others, David.
I'm sorry I've been such a mess today."
The two pulled apart as David clapped Shed on the shoulder gently.
You know I'm always here for you, thick and thin.
'Sides, I think anyone would have a breakdown if they were told they had to fight in some damn war all of the sudden, especially if they were fed the metric tons of horseshit you've been fed your entire life."
That got a laugh out of Shed as he raised his hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it Anxiously.
"Yeah, you're right about that one..
Let's just.. Hope it goes quick."
Rain poured down on the burnt ruins of Shedletskys childhood home, as he stared down at the dying face of his mentor, her blood staining the ground beneath her and dripping off of the blade of his sword.
Shed wore armor, black leather with golden trim, with the emblem of a ring of fire on both shoulders; a symbol that's followed him around his entire life.
He breathed heavily as the sky above them crackled and broke apart, the code that held the world together corrupting more and more as time went on.
Tears streamed down his cheeks as Vera stared up at him, a sick smile stretching across her paling face.
"I was right.." she spoke weakly, turning her gaze up to the breaking sky.
"The... Golden nephilim... It's really true.."
She croaked out a strained laugh as she looked back at Shed, who stared at her with disdain.
"I should've.. Killed you...
As she spoke her final words, she took one last weak breath as the blood loss finally took her.
Shed fell to his knees and let out a sob, tears falling faster down his cheeks and mixing with raindrops as the sound of footsteps and crackling fire were heard approaching rapidly behind Shed.
"John!" David called out, the sound of his voice muffled by the ringing in Sheds ears as he stared at the lifeless corpse of the woman who'd raised him since he was eight years old.
Standing behind him now were his three friends, David, Dusekkar, and Cliff; all three of them looking down at the carnage before them as the world began to break apart even more.
"Gods above.." Dusekkar spoke quietly, being the first to approach Shed and drop to their knees next to him, placing a hoof on his shoulder.
After a few moments, Shed sucked in a breath and stood, Dusekkar standing with him as David approached closer.
His voice wavered slightly as he pushed back his pain, his expression steeling as he looked up at the sky.
"As far as I'm aware, there is no way to stop it."
Cliff spoke from behind, gruff voice slightly booming over the sound of the rain.
Dusekkars flame flickered, as their gaze stayed on Shed for just a moment.
"The Code has corrupted far beyond what I or other mages can mend...
I am afraid, dear friends, that.. This is the end."
This didn't sit well with Shed, as anyone could tell, but in the long run what really could he do?
He clenched his fists as he looked down at the lifeless corpse below him, and turned around, pushing past his friends to go out into the square of town...
The rest of the townsfolk had tried to evacuate, where else could they go but to their deaths? Until his friends had arrived, it had just been Vera and himself, fighting away at the end of the world.
Now that she was gone, it was himself and the people who meant the most to him.
Anyone else would be satisfied with an end like that.. An end spent with the people they loved.
But not him.. He wasn't ready to go yet.
There was so much more he could do, so much good he could give...
So much that David could build, that Dusekkar could learn, that Cliff could care for.
None of this sat well with him.
None of this sat well with any of them.
But as everything began to come to a close, and the world around them destabilized to the point of shattering apart, all the four of them could do was sit in the middle of town and watch it all break into pieces..
And as the ground where they stood began to crack, the void creeping towards them as electricity sparked through the air and caused the hairs to stand up, the four of them stood hand and hand.. What else could they do?
With eyes closed, Shed, David, Dusekkar, and Cliff felt the world they knew and loved come to a close..
What they didn't seem to understand was opening their eyes to find themselves alive.
Standing hand in hand inside of a white plane devoid of anything special or new.
Somehow, the four of them had survived, and here they were; standing in a realm made of pure code.
They had no way of knowing how to control it, no way of knowing if they'd continue to survive in this place without food or water, but they were here...
And that had to count for something, right?
If it didn't, what would be the point of them still existing?
