Post by Ranth on Feb 24, 2018 12:15:30 GMT -5
Streetlights nearly blinded Ranth as he stood in the center of four way intersection. Squinting as he shielded his eyes against the bright neon light that beat down on him like a tangible force, he found that he couldn't make out anything beyond the inky blackness that surrounded him on all sides. Turning slowly as his eyes adjusted to the artificial light he felt a faint tug of familiarity as the sphere of illumination began to spread to reveal the all too familiar architecture of Karakura town.
A sudden surge of panic rose up within Ranth's chest as he made this realisation and suddenly the illumination that had seemed to protect him from the darkness instead made him feel like he was the prey of something watching from beyond the line of blackness. Breathing heavily, Ranth turned more rapidly as his eyes tried and failed to pierce the veil and his skin prickled as the sensation of eyes bearing down on him unseen bore down on him.
Suddenly, movement in the corner of his periphery caught his eye and he turned towards it as a figure emerged from the darkness as though it were a curtain. As the figure entered the light and his blood froze in his veins as he recognised the slim, feminine figure that stood and watched him with a predatory grin. It was Lagos, the Arrancar and she was here to finish what she'd started and as their eyes met, she grinned savagely.
Unable to control the panic, Ranth stumbled backwards- the sound of his feet scuffing against the pavement seeming impossibly loud amidst the utter silence of the abandoned city streets. Catching himself, the young shinigami turned and fled from the circle of light, plunging blindly into the darkness beyond. Scarcely able to see his hand in front of his face, Ranth staggered blindly down the street as quickly as he dared, driven by the primal panic.
He stumbled along like that for what felt like hours, his every breath shattering the silence with every pump of his lungs, Ranth finally allowed himself to slow and then stop and look over his shoulder. He could no longer see the island of light, which was an incredible relief as he slumped against the wall of an adjacent building and closed his eyes as he tried to get his breathing and hammering heart under control.
It took an age, but eventually he felt a measure of control return to him. He was safe, he'd escaped, he- "I was wondering when you'd come back to me". Ranth's eyes snapped open in shock only to slam them shut again as they were assailed by those same neon lights that had first greeted him and he realised with sinking dread that somehow he was back where he'd started.
Forcing his eyes open, Ranth found himself face to face with Lagos, who had now moved from the edge of the light towards the center where Ranth once again found himself standing. "N-no! No! Stay back, get away from me!", Ranth tried to shout at her, but it came out as a pathetic stammer as he began to back away again- Lagos matching every one of his backward steps with a step forward of her own.
For a second time, Ranth turned and fled away from the light and for a second time he ran blindly- faster this time- into the darkness and he nearly collided with several unseen obstacles- trash cans, uneven concrete and street signs- before he dared to glance over his shoulder to once again find that the island of light had been left behind, but when he turned his eyes forwards once more, he found himself looking at the island of light for a third time, but to his horror... this time there was no sign of Lagos.
"Looking for me?" her voice whispered in his ear and he jolted forwards, turning wildly and lashing out with his fists only for them to pass through empty air and her disembodied laughter filled the streets and he backed into the light, preferring to at least be able to see his tormentor when she came for him. "You can't be here!", he cried out into the darkness. "Senshi defeated you!"
The laughter stopped so suddenly that it nearly startled him and the sound of something heavy scraping on the ground filled the emptiness as Lagos stepped into the light in front of him, a feral grin splitting her face as her left hand stretched back into the darkness and out of Ranth's sight. "Senshi? You mean... this?", with a grunt, she heaved and produced a truly horrifying sight as something large was tossed to the ground between where Lagos and Ranth stood with a thump.
Ranth felt his knees go weak as he realised that the bloodied mass of butchered flesh that lay on the ground leaking blood that spread in an ever widening pool beneath it was a person... and that person was missing an arm. It was Senshi and she was dead. "You did this to her you know", Lagos said idly as she casually inspected her finger nails. "If you'd just died like a good little boy then she wouldn't have had to die in your place. Not that it really matters I suppose... since you're going to die here anyway."
She sighed as she said this, as though it were a hassle that she'd had to wait this long for her chance to kill him and that callous apathy spoke volumes about just how useless and weak Ranth was. He couldn't defend himself, not from Lagos, not from any real threat. He'd relied on people more powerful than himself and now Senshi was dead and there was nobody left to save him. He was alone, completely and utterly.
"Not even going to put up a fight?" Lagos asked, sounding disappointed... no, disgusted as she drew her zanpakuto and drew it back in preparation to drive it into the chest of the listless Shinigami whose spirit had been broken by fear. Useless until the bitter end. How disappointing, she tensed and drove her steel forth and into Ranth's still beating heart.
Ranth awoke with a gasp as he sat bolt upright in his bed, safe within the heart of the Kido Corps barracks. His breathing was ragged and his heart was hammering as his mind struggled to tell his body that there was no danger. His sheets were soaked with sweat and at some point had become twisted around him as he now struggled to shrug them off and toss them to the floor.
As he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead, he was hardly surprised to find that it came away slick with sweat and as the terror of the nightmare passed, the rational part of him noted that he was going to have to change his clothes and bedding... again. This wasn't the first time he'd had this dream after all. In the week since he'd nearly been killed by an Arrancar he'd had that nightmare, of some variation of it, every single night since.
Sighing as accepted the fact that he was in for another sleepless night, Ranth pushed himself out of bed and discarded both his sweat soaked sheets and his sweaty bed clothes into a basket that would be collected at dawn. One of the few perks of being a seated officer was that he no longer needed to do his own laundry, which was just as well because he didn't know where he'd find the time with his new workload.
A sudden surge of panic rose up within Ranth's chest as he made this realisation and suddenly the illumination that had seemed to protect him from the darkness instead made him feel like he was the prey of something watching from beyond the line of blackness. Breathing heavily, Ranth turned more rapidly as his eyes tried and failed to pierce the veil and his skin prickled as the sensation of eyes bearing down on him unseen bore down on him.
Suddenly, movement in the corner of his periphery caught his eye and he turned towards it as a figure emerged from the darkness as though it were a curtain. As the figure entered the light and his blood froze in his veins as he recognised the slim, feminine figure that stood and watched him with a predatory grin. It was Lagos, the Arrancar and she was here to finish what she'd started and as their eyes met, she grinned savagely.
Unable to control the panic, Ranth stumbled backwards- the sound of his feet scuffing against the pavement seeming impossibly loud amidst the utter silence of the abandoned city streets. Catching himself, the young shinigami turned and fled from the circle of light, plunging blindly into the darkness beyond. Scarcely able to see his hand in front of his face, Ranth staggered blindly down the street as quickly as he dared, driven by the primal panic.
He stumbled along like that for what felt like hours, his every breath shattering the silence with every pump of his lungs, Ranth finally allowed himself to slow and then stop and look over his shoulder. He could no longer see the island of light, which was an incredible relief as he slumped against the wall of an adjacent building and closed his eyes as he tried to get his breathing and hammering heart under control.
It took an age, but eventually he felt a measure of control return to him. He was safe, he'd escaped, he- "I was wondering when you'd come back to me". Ranth's eyes snapped open in shock only to slam them shut again as they were assailed by those same neon lights that had first greeted him and he realised with sinking dread that somehow he was back where he'd started.
Forcing his eyes open, Ranth found himself face to face with Lagos, who had now moved from the edge of the light towards the center where Ranth once again found himself standing. "N-no! No! Stay back, get away from me!", Ranth tried to shout at her, but it came out as a pathetic stammer as he began to back away again- Lagos matching every one of his backward steps with a step forward of her own.
For a second time, Ranth turned and fled away from the light and for a second time he ran blindly- faster this time- into the darkness and he nearly collided with several unseen obstacles- trash cans, uneven concrete and street signs- before he dared to glance over his shoulder to once again find that the island of light had been left behind, but when he turned his eyes forwards once more, he found himself looking at the island of light for a third time, but to his horror... this time there was no sign of Lagos.
"Looking for me?" her voice whispered in his ear and he jolted forwards, turning wildly and lashing out with his fists only for them to pass through empty air and her disembodied laughter filled the streets and he backed into the light, preferring to at least be able to see his tormentor when she came for him. "You can't be here!", he cried out into the darkness. "Senshi defeated you!"
The laughter stopped so suddenly that it nearly startled him and the sound of something heavy scraping on the ground filled the emptiness as Lagos stepped into the light in front of him, a feral grin splitting her face as her left hand stretched back into the darkness and out of Ranth's sight. "Senshi? You mean... this?", with a grunt, she heaved and produced a truly horrifying sight as something large was tossed to the ground between where Lagos and Ranth stood with a thump.
Ranth felt his knees go weak as he realised that the bloodied mass of butchered flesh that lay on the ground leaking blood that spread in an ever widening pool beneath it was a person... and that person was missing an arm. It was Senshi and she was dead. "You did this to her you know", Lagos said idly as she casually inspected her finger nails. "If you'd just died like a good little boy then she wouldn't have had to die in your place. Not that it really matters I suppose... since you're going to die here anyway."
She sighed as she said this, as though it were a hassle that she'd had to wait this long for her chance to kill him and that callous apathy spoke volumes about just how useless and weak Ranth was. He couldn't defend himself, not from Lagos, not from any real threat. He'd relied on people more powerful than himself and now Senshi was dead and there was nobody left to save him. He was alone, completely and utterly.
"Not even going to put up a fight?" Lagos asked, sounding disappointed... no, disgusted as she drew her zanpakuto and drew it back in preparation to drive it into the chest of the listless Shinigami whose spirit had been broken by fear. Useless until the bitter end. How disappointing, she tensed and drove her steel forth and into Ranth's still beating heart.
Ranth awoke with a gasp as he sat bolt upright in his bed, safe within the heart of the Kido Corps barracks. His breathing was ragged and his heart was hammering as his mind struggled to tell his body that there was no danger. His sheets were soaked with sweat and at some point had become twisted around him as he now struggled to shrug them off and toss them to the floor.
As he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead, he was hardly surprised to find that it came away slick with sweat and as the terror of the nightmare passed, the rational part of him noted that he was going to have to change his clothes and bedding... again. This wasn't the first time he'd had this dream after all. In the week since he'd nearly been killed by an Arrancar he'd had that nightmare, of some variation of it, every single night since.
Sighing as accepted the fact that he was in for another sleepless night, Ranth pushed himself out of bed and discarded both his sweat soaked sheets and his sweaty bed clothes into a basket that would be collected at dawn. One of the few perks of being a seated officer was that he no longer needed to do his own laundry, which was just as well because he didn't know where he'd find the time with his new workload.