Act 4: The Three Keys
3456 Words
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Sunday, November 21, 2021
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“I am Mr. 4,” the shady guy introduces himself to Gene. “I am spirit warrior just like you and them however I came from a different tribe. You must be Gene…”
“Tribes,” Gene wonders for a bit. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Mr. 4 glances at Vortex, “so you have not told him about those.” He looks back at Gene, “luckily I am not busy today so I could tell you about some important matters.”
Gene looks at Alesa, “I am with someone right now…”
“It’s okay,” Alesa excuses herself, “I am about to leave anyway…”
“Are you certain?”
“Yeah, I’m gonna go…" Alesa hurries to leave. However, in her thoughts, "Damn it Alesa!!! Why did you just do that?! You're an i***t myself!!! You should've fought for your right!!! GAAAAAH!!!"
“HAAAAAA, alright, take care,” Gene sighs and then waves at her as she takes off and then looks back at Mr. 4. “I’m all ears…”
~(^T^)~
“There were three tribes,” Mr. 4 begins to tell the tale, “the soul chasers,” he points towards Alesa going downstairs, “the phantom seekers,” he looks at Vortex, “and the ghost hunters,” he refers to himself and to Gene. “Each one of the tribe leaders hold an indestructible key that they have to keep away from the reincarnating god, Vol-jan.”
“Do you have a key?” Gene looks at Vortex.
“I have,” Vortex nods, “and it is well protected in a safe deep within this café. The Bach family also has one hidden.”
“However,” Mr. 4 sighs, “the final key is missing.”
“Maybe it is buried deep underground,” Gene tries to conclude even though he knows that it is within his soul.
“If it were buried deep,” Mr. 4 looks at him, “it will eventually reappear somewhere that is why the keepers have to check it every month to keep it from reappearing somewhere else. Viz has the ruby key, Bach has the sapphire key, and Arcrat used to have the emerald key.”
“What is so important about the three keys?” he asks Mr. 4.
“The three keys represent Vol-jan’s sealed powers,” Mr. 4 explains. “The sapphire represents the power alter the lands and the seas, the ruby represents the power to distort time and space, and the emerald represents the power to break the reality. Vol-jan failed twice already keeping with him the memories of how he was defeated. It is a continuous cycle that have been happening every millennium.”
Vortex continues, “I was retold the story several times too. After becoming a god, Vol-jan fell to the evil side and so the superior-being of reality named Lady Waxe cursed him with reincarnation every millennium until he accepts his broken destiny. His powers are sealed within three keys and each key was held by each of the three persons. Lady Waxe, together with our goddess Lady Naxo, blest the three persons with powers coming from their souls, the soul extension.”
“Afterwards,” Mr. 4 takes the spotlight again, “they also taught them on how to strengthen their powers by absorbing the souls of the dead plants, animals, and humans. The problem was that one of the Supreme Beings we worship in our religion, aside from Lady Naxo who is the Supreme Being of Life,
had a problem with absorbing the souls as if eating them. Lord Voix, the Supreme Being of Death, does not want the souls collected by his grim reapers to be used as energies for the like of us, as stated in our own Bible."
"Yeah about your religion and your bible..." Gene scratches his head, "I am of a different religion... but of course it is staple that we know of the existence of the 11 Supreme Beings who created the entire Verse. The problem for me is I was raised not as an Incarnian but as a Namitian."
"Oh," Vortex smirks. "That is a problem... since you have a power that only we Incarnians have. It is fine though, Lady Waxe is not even the Supreme Being we worship... she belongs to the central religion, Veraidealis..."
"Read the Incarnum Book," Mr. 4 sighs. "That's all I can say for now..."
~(^T^)~
“OI GANERN,” Julie walks out because he was left out. “You guys left me alone standing and waiting under the moonlight like CHAK PAK CHAK!”
“Enough!” Vortex glares at Julie. “Your shift has been over for about 30 minutes now…”
Priestess laughs and snorts like a pig again, “Let us go home together JULIE~”
“To cut it short Gene,” Mr. 4 hands him a card, “You are a ghost hunter just like me and there are others like us there.”
“Yeah but I am already part of Sir Viz and I thought that I was the first to coin the alias as Ghost Hunter,” Gene takes the card. “Maybe I can help sometimes if you need me… perhaps…”
“If you found something about the emerald key,” Mr. 4 stands up, “that would help a lot…”
“Okay…”
Gene nods, "if ever I get anything..."
~(^T^)~
Back at Gene’s room in the boarding house, only Maledi was present there. Romani decides to stay at his mansion regardless of the ruins. In addition, Gene and Romani are soul-linked that is why they can pinpoint the location of each other.
“Maledi,” Gene sits on his bed, “How come the key never disappeared even if everybody in the mansion died?”
Maledi sits beside him, “You forgot about my unique soul extension, master~”
“Of course,” Gene sighs as he checks out the key he is currently holding onto. “You can make a body of your own to check it out every month. I wonder why the Supreme Reality Being made the keys in the first place…”
“So you heard about the story, master.” Maledi floats in mid-air. “My guess is that Lady Waxe made those to teach both Vol-jan and the humans, who have turned him bad, a lesson…”
“I guess you’re right, Maledi…"
~(^T^)~
Meanwhile, Mr. 4 parks his car in a dimly lit street. He feels very hungry and begins to hunt for souls. A group of gangsters happen to be nearby and they are beating down a man who happens to pass by. Mr. 4 approaches the first gangster by delivering a massive kick. The gangster dies instantly upon landing on the cold floor.
All of the gangsters turn their attention to Mr. 4, “What did you do him?!” one of them yells.
“I’m here to clean the streets,” Mr. 4 grins at them madly, “and… I am very hungry.”
“How about we smudge this street with your corpse?!” one of the gangsters asks him while the others revealed their knives.
Mr. 4 materializes his signature weapons in a blink of an eye, a katana on his left and a pistol on his right. “I am Zasalamel Vestroia and I will eat your souls…”
Mr. 4 leaves a bloody street leaving the victim of the gangsters alive. It was a slaughter and all of the gangsters are left lifeless.
“This is what we need,” the victim stands up, “vigilantes. The government-”
Mr. 4 grabs the neck of the victim, “You talk too much... I am not what you think I am...” he slits the throat without thinking twice.
After a while, Mr. 4, also known as Zasalamel, arrives at his condo unit. However, he sees lights in his room already prompting him to be more cautious when he enters. Then again, it bears no threat because the one inside his room is Ms. 5, his partner.
“What are you doing in my room, R?”
“How is it that your clothes aren’t bloody at all when you killed those people?” she asks without answering his question.
“Physics,” Zasalamel proceeds to his bedroom, “I don’t know. You’ll be sleeping on the couch R.”
“I know,” she sighs. “I need the television anyways…”
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(ONE YEAR AGO)
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“I could help you get away with your life,” a man called Hexagon recruits Zasalamel. “I can show you great wonders that you’ve never seen before your entire life.”
“Is this some kind of joke to you?” Zasalamel glares at Hexagon.
“I don’t know.” Hexagon’s right hand ignites and is engulfed by flames, “Is this some kind of joke to you?”
“How about you give me time to think about it?” Zasalamel takes interest. “I’ve seen those powers before… I want one...”
“They are called soul extensions,” Hexagon formally introduces himself. “I am a spirit warrior and they call me Hexagon. I can also grant you one wish with exception of you becoming me, the thought that I have to die, and everything about affection. You use this wish to your advantage now provided that you are going to join me.”
“Okay,” Zasalamel smirks. “For the course of eleven months, nobody wins in the raffle but me.”
“Then you’ll have to place your raffle on the last day of the tenth month in order for you to win on the first day of the eleventh month.” Hexagon grins at his wish. “Granted…”
~(^T^)~
(ONE MONTH AGO)
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He won the lottery by over a billion coupiece (currency). Being an orphan without any other relatives, he didn’t have anybody to share his blessings with. The first thing he did was to make a bank account. Then, he bought a condo unit and a car, and ultimately became Mr. 4. At that time, he had already learned a lot from Hexagon. His soul extension is called Master Agent which comprises of four unique weapons. The first weapon is a two feet long katana which is very sharp and never becomes dull. Secondly, the next one is a pistol that never runs out of bullets. Thirdly is having a tougher skin which can protect the body from being externally injured. Finally, the most important weapon is increased visual fields, accuracy, evasion, and the ability to determine the tribe of a spirit warrior.
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(AT PRESENT)
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Monday, November 22, 2021
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At 7:00 a.m. of the next day, Gene watches the gruesome scene along with a lot of people as the police gather at the street where Zasalamel murdered everyone last night. Of course, nobody except R knew that Zasalamel is behind the wickedness that had taken place.
“I can’t feel any ghostly presence,” Gene monologues in his thoughts as he tries to figure out what happened. “I have to go to the mansion…”
At the mansion, Gene notices that the caretaker is talking with someone. The stranger goes inside the mansion with the caretaker. At that moment, Gene decides to follow them and get the attention of the caretaker.
“Mr. Caretaker,” Gene calls him.
“Please excuse me,” the caretaker pardons himself and goes to speak with Gene. “I am speaking with a buyer. He says he is interested with the house and lot no matter how haunted it is.”
“What do you mean?” Gene then thinks that the buyer is a spirit warrior and he might eat Romani. “I need to talk to the guy.”
“Wait,” the caretaker stops him. “The owners are trying to sell the lot for years already. We can’t just let it go now that we have an interested buyer.”
“Just let me speak with the buyer,” Gene pleads. “I just want to know why.”
“Fine,” the caretaker sighs. “You saved my life anyway…”
“Thank you very much,” Gene bows down.
He is then accompanied by the caretaker towards the buyer.
“Hello Gene,” Zasalamel glances at him. “Beautiful mansion, don’t you think?”
“Mr. 4,” Gene stares at him. “So it is you.”
The caretaker butts in, “You know each other?”
“Yes, just recently... Mr. Caretaker,” Zasalamel looks at the guy. “Please leave us alone for a while. You can guard my car outside.”
“Okay sir,” the caretaker leaves. “Just tell me if you’ve made up your mind.”
Zasalamel closes the door, “I knew you’d be here Gene. Do you know where the key is?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Gene walks along the corridor without taking his eyes off Mr. 4. “So do you think the key is here?”
“I think so,” Zasalamel walks at the opposite end of the corridor. “You’ve been here many times so I think you know. They say that this place has lots of evil spirits, but I think you’ve eaten them already.”
“I did so in order for my wounds to heal,” Gene explains. “If you knew that the key was here, why didn’t you go sooner?”
“Why I should I tell you the reason?” he begins to use his soul extension and summons the katana. “Does it matter to you?”
“I’m not scared of you,” Gene becomes anxious that he clenches his right fist to use his soul extension on that part only. Five claws imbued with dark energy come out from his right knuckles. “It does for me to erase my doubts about you.” He then thinks to himself, “Now that I think about it, Romani’s essence is at home.”
“You are really interesting,” Zasalamel grins as he approaches Gene, “that it makes me want to fight you.” He brings out the pistol.
“I’ve been practicing for a few nights at the boarding house for a fight like this,” Gene, in his thoughts, feels at ease and embraces the fear. The dark energy from his claws cloaks his entire body. He looks at the katana and the pistol and remembers about the crime scene from earlier. “You were the one who killed those men back there…”
Zasalamel aims to shoot Gene, “So what? Those people are evil anyway... except maybe for the other guy.”
“Don’t take me lightly,” Gene raises his claws, “for you will become my first human kill.”
“He is right.” Romani appears behind Gene, “for my soul is linked to this child’s.”
“Romani,” Gene looks at the ghost owner of the mansion.
“Romani Arcrat. A long dead member of the Ghost Hunter Tribe.” Zasalamel unsummons his weapons. “I am here for the emerald key. Do you know where it is?”
“My dear stranger,” Romani glares at Zasalamel, “I've been dead for a long time and even if I know where it is… I won’t tell you.”
“That must mean that the emerald key is not here,” Zasalamel begins to leave. “I will still buy this though. You should leave this mansion dead owner…” he laughs grimly. “Hexagon will be happy to find out about this…”
“Hexagon,” Romani whispers, “that man…”
“I need an explanation here...” Gene asks him as he lowers his guard down knowing that Zasalamel has left, “Who is this Hexagon guy and who is that Mr. 4 guy?”
“We have to go back to your place,” Romani urges Gene to leave. “I’ll tell you when we get there…”
“Um you know I have classes at 9 a.m., right?” he shows the perverted ghost his schoolbag.
“s**t,” Romani slaps his own face. “I’ll go ahead then… you should've put a porn magazine in your bag for me to read...”
“I’ll see you tonight, pervert.” Gene heads to the café. “It’s 7:50. I still have time to have breakfast. Maybe you could explain it there.”
"Not a chance..." Romani squirms inside the bag.
~(^T^)~
Meanwhile, back at Zasalamel’s condo unit, he finds R still watching television on his couch. At the same moment, the phone rings.
“Zas,” Elena passes the phone, “this phone is ringing~”
Zasalamel answers, “Hello…”
“How do you like Ms. 5, Zas?” Hexagon speaks in the other line. “She is going to be totally reliable.”
Zasalamel goes to his room and locks the door, “I didn’t ask for a partner though. However, she is quite the charmer.”
Elena passes through the door and giggles, “I think I’m going to like Mr. 4, Hexagon.”
“That’s good to hear,” Hexagon laughs. “Get to know each other better or even more intimate. Meanwhile, I will be sending your next targets.”
“Whatever...” Zasalamel inhales deeply. “I bought the Arcrat Mansion and I’m planning to have it renovated by our men.”
Hexagon exclaims, “Good... very good!!! We can use it as our weapons facility.”
“Is there any more you would like to ask of me?” Zasalamel defiantly asks Hexagon.
“Oh yes,” Hexagon supplements his question. “We have to cut ties from the normal world and it came to my thought that you have a normal girlfriend. Kill her and make Ms. 5 eat her soul. Do it tomorrow.”
Zasalamel pauses for a moment, “… … … consider it done.”
~(^T^)~
Before leaving the café, Gene feels the emerald key deep within his soul. “I won’t hand this to you, Mr. 4…”
~(^T^)~
Meanwhile, at the deepest part of Sir Viz’s Café, Vortex opens a safe where the ruby key is and holds it. “I swear… father… mother…”
~(^T^)~
Finally, at the office of the Bach Building, Alazo takes out the sapphire key and decides to wear it. “Vol-jan is coming… and we'll use his powers against him...”
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FACTS
Zasalamel Vestroia aka Mr. 4
Age: 25; Birthday: November 3, 1996; Hair color: Light Gray; Eye color: Dark Red; Skin tone: Fairly pale; Personality: Shady
Soul Extension: Master Agent (forever sharp katana, infinite bullet pistol, tough skin, and special eyes)
Ragon Elena Salami aka Ms. 5
Age: 24; Birthday: December 9, 1996; Hair color: Crimson; Eye color: Pink; Skin tone: Fair; Personality: Daring
Soul Extension: Stealth Assassin (Spectral and Invisible)
Soul Awakening is a power that surpasses that of the Soul Extension. However, this awakening can only be used once in a lifetime.
Eleven Supreme Beings
A. Namity
1. Lord Reax the Creator
2. Lord Xaos the Destroyer
3. Lord Exyd the Author of Fate
B. Incarnum
4. Lady Naxo the Giver of Life
5. Lord Voix the Reaper of Life
6. Lord Xpir the Reason for Living
C. Librium
7. Lord Exal the Equilibrium
D. Veraidealis
8. Lady Waxe the Queen of Reality
9. Lady Xemp the Queen of Time
10. Lord Axil the King of Space
11. Lord Xeel the King of Fantasy
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- Writer
