A Night in Berlin

[Eden]

Eden stood with his other coworkers watching their boss fumble with his large set of keys as he attempted to lock up for the night. He stood off to the side not interacting with the others who were all talking loudly about their plans for the night. While everyone else including his boss had already changed out of their uniforms Eden still wore the black pants and tie along with the white button up, he hadn’t even bothered to take off the half apron that completed the outfit.

This was nothing new for him of course so his coworkers just accepted it and didn’t ask questions. They had also learned long ago that trying to engage the gray haired man in conversation was usually more trouble then it was worth. This was pretty much how Eden liked it though. While he didn’t dislike any of his coworkers or really anyone he just hadn’t found any of them interesting enough to interact with more then necessary.

“Finally!” their boss exclaimed turning to lock before pulling his key back out and losing it among the nearly identical other keys on the ring. “Thank you all for your hard work today!” he exclaimed joyfully giving them an awkward round of applause that seemed to only cause a few forced laughs in response. After a handful of parting words the group seperated and everyone began walking towards their destinations.

Being the only one who needed the subway at that time of night Eden began walking alone down the street passively watching as the other store fronts finished up their own closing rituals and the lights from inside began to go out leaving only the street lamps by the time he reached the corner. While most of Berlin was much more active the path Eden found himself walking was almost unnaturally quiet and devoid of other people.

[joutenkira]

Elias Finn found himself standing on a platform in an unfamiliar location as he held his head that throbbed with pain. He had no memory of what he was doing until that point and it took him about a minute standing there to realize his last memories were of several hours before looking at the clock in what appeared to be a dimly lit subway. 'It can't be...I cast a spell on myself? To remove my memory?' he thought trying to come to terms with his memory loss.

Elias was different from other 17 year old highschoolers, he was from a family of mages and a very ancient one at that. He decided he could speculate why he would once again dip into the world of magic at a later time but for now he should try walking home. He thought maybe his sister could have had something to do with it but he hadn't spoken to her in months so he quickly brushed that assumption aside. It was then that he decided to check the pocket of the black hoodie he was currently wearing and noticed that a crumbled up piece of paper was in it. He pulled it out and his eyes narrowed as he read what it said aloud "Return to the beginning?"

It was then he looked up and saw a gray haired man walking down the path ahead of him which was highly unusual since the area was completely void of other people. 'I really hope this guy isn't a mage' he thought to himself quickly shoving the crumpled paper back into his pocket while attempting to appear casual as he walked past the man.

[Eden]

Eden continued towards the subway platform passing by only one other person on his way. The younger boy looked to be confused though at the same time didn’t seem like he wanted any help or to be noticed so Eden just continued on right by him noticing the boy as he hurriedly shoved a piece of paper into his pocket and walk in the opposite direction.

The gray haired man continued forward until he stood at the top of the stairs leading down into the subway before his stance seemed to warp slightly. He stood up straighter pushing the bridge of his glasses further up his nose. In one move he turned while dropping to one knee a large semi translucent bluish bow materializing in his hands with an arrow already knocked.

[joutenkira]

Elias let out a sigh of relief as the man walked past him leaving him wondering if his instincts had grown dull recently. He didn't notice however the small shadowy figure jumping across the rooftops before jumping down behind the gray haired man who was now pointing a translucent bow and arrow in his direction.

"What are you doing?" the small hooded figure demanded in a cold tone while simultaneously pulling out a short dagger with a red gem imbued inside "I'll give you 5 seconds before I cut you down to answer." The figure was small and the most defining characteristics was their short black hair peaking out from under the black hood and the piercing red eyes they were using to glare at the man.

[Eden]

Eden sighed at the inconvenience this was now becoming. Taking a breath and holding it he released the arrow letting it fly straight at the bow walking down the street. Once the arrow left the bow he allowed the weapon to disperse before swinging his bent leg in a small arc catching his assailant behind the knee and pulling them towards him as he rose to his full height past them letting the hand they had holding the dagger fall harmlessly towards the ground. As if almost like an afterthought Eden reached his hand out and grasped the person's wrist while placing one of his feet behind theirs keeping them from falling fully but not allowing them to be standing without some complications.

The gray haired man raised his eyes in time to see the arrow fly very narrowly past the young boy he had passed earlier and continue down the road before finding its target. About twenty feet from where the blonde boy stood a figure slumped seemingly out of nowhere falling onto his knees with the arrow protruding from his chest. The man gave a startled gasp before his eyes rolled back and he fell forward his life leaving him as the arrow disappeared along with it.

“That worked out still so I suppose there is no harm done” Eden said using his free hand the push his glasses up as he looked down at the hooded figure that he was still supporting at such an awkward angle. It was then that the night air shifted slightly a small breeze blowing down the road ruffling his gray locks away from his face making them look almost silver in the dim street lights.

[joutenkira]

"Tch let me go you jerk!" the hooded figure yelled out suddenly while a white ripple suddenly appeared in the air next to the gray haired man's head and a hand suddenly came through and smacked him directly in the face. The hooded figure managed to push away from the man but not before falling over onto their behind as the hood fell off their face.

The young black haired girl sitting there before the man had a red face but she composed herself quickly and jumped back to her feet "Who are you and why did you kill that man over there?" she asked as the dagger that had previously fallen from her hand now gently reappeared from the ripple that opened in the air near her.

[Eden]

Eden took the slap slightly shocked by the girls sudden outburst. He took a minute thinking back on their previous exchange trying too figure out what could have brought about that particular response. When he couldn't figure out what the issue could have been he looked down at her raising his hand to lower his glasses slightly so that he was able to look at her without the layer of glass in the way. While her face seemed to be remarkably red which also confused Eden he was able to pick up on a few things at least that did make more sense to him.

Pushing his glasses back up Eden gave a slight bow to the girl."I'm sorry if I have offended you my lady" he said simply slipping into the attitude he adopted when dealing with mages. The gray haired man began walking past her before stopping mid stride and turning his head slightly. "In answer to your question though my lady I killed the man because I was paid to do so" he added simply before continuing to walk forward towards the bow he had passed earlier.

[joutenkira]

Mia was a bit taken aback by the man's apology but quickly narrowed her eyes as he stated plainly he was an assassin that was paid to kill the man. She knew this man must be protected by some higher powers and she couldn't afford to let her personal feelings get in the way...especially if his target wasn't Elias. She quickly followed after him deciding if there was a time to reveal herself to Elias it would be now.

'This is crazy' Elias thought to himself staring at the dead body of the man, killed by the gray haired man who had walked past him earlier and who now was currently walking towards him again. He didn't sense any hostile intent coming from him but of course he didn't think that he would have killed somebody in cold blood minutes before hand. It was then he saw as young girl walking towards him as well causing a pit in his stomach to form "Mia!" he called out but the girl casually just waved and turned her head away from him.

'I guess I can wait to talk to my sister...it's clear what she was doing anyway.' he thought as he glared at the man walking in his direction "I won't stand for murderers in my city. I don't care if you're a mage or some shitty ability user, that doesn't give you the right to play god. Explain what the hell you're doing here." Elias stated as he watched for a reaction out of the man.

[Eden]

The gray haired boy raised an eyebrow at Elias’s outburst but didn’t move to respond right away, instead he continued on towards the body using the toe of his boot to turn the man over exposing a rather disgusting look face. When the body had fallen the face and form looked much more human but now that Eden had killed the being its true essence being was starting to show. The creature was turning black with shadow like tendrils protruding from the flesh which would have been moving in life but now just flopped against the skin.

Eden reached into the pocket of his half apron picking out the phone inside and snapping a quick picture of the corpse before sending the picture and repocketing the device. Once that was completed he looked back at the two his glasses having slipped down enough that he could get a look at the both of them without the layer of glass. He noticed many similarities between the two and was able to quickly see the boy was either a mage or magically adept, the mana seemed more refined though so he assumed it would have had to been a mage.

The gray haired man pushed his glasses back up his nose before speaking to Elias finally. “I am sorry that you will not stand for murders in your city but I must still sadden you further since this was not the first such act I have commited here nor shall it be my last. I am paid to clean up certain messes and I do so, if you think that means I’m playing god then that is your prerogative I suppose.” During his small speech Eden knelt down next to the corpse placing a hand strategically on the body as to not touch any part that was to dirty. A few seconds after he did so the body began to disappear in the same manner of his bow and arrow before it. By the time he finished speaking the whole body had vanished leaving nothing but a smear of black liquid on the ground as proof that anything had even happened.

With his hit complete Eden turned his full attention back to his young audience taking a moment to straighten his tie as he tried to gauge how much of an issue they could become should his explanation not appease the two mages.

[joutenkira]

Elias let out a gap as the body of what he thought was a man was revealed to be some kind of monster with tendrils as black as shadows.

"What the hell...this obviously isn't an ordinary kind of hit. You're killing monsters?" he asked Eden with a look of bewilderment

"Of course he was. You would have known that if you didn't reject this life big brother." Mia spat out as she crossed her arms with an annoyed expression.

He flinched listening to his little sister's words but shook his head as he took a deep breath.

"I apologize for claiming you were a murderer. I didn't realize we had monsters running around in Germany now too."

[Eden]

Eden sighed crossing his arms over his chest before raising on hand up to adjust his glasses.

"This time it was a monster other times it is humans that know too much or rival mages." the gray-haired boy explained his tone lazy and rather bored. "I'm surprised you don't know as much about this since you both seem to belong to a mage family. Mages are the biggest users of my services and usually the ones who pay the best." he finished his gaze primarily focusing on the boy across from him since he seemed to be the more hot-headed of the two.

In the back of his mind, he was already playing out scenarios of how to best eliminate the two with the least collateral damage. The young girl would be easier to take out first since she seemed the most dangerous and her age, size, and magical immaturity would be easy to overpower. Eden knew that the boy, however, could prove to be more complicated to deal with since he wasn't aware of his abilities yet.

He had to keep reminding himself that these thoughts while necessary needed to be the last case scenario for how this would be dealt with.

[joutenkira]

Elias felt his fists start to tighten as the man explained he also killed humans and rival mages but he quickly put it out of his mind ‘He’s a symptom, not a cause’ he thought to himself before turning to look towards his sister. Mia looked disinterested in what the man was saying and had crossed her arms, most likely waiting to speak until after he left. ‘She’s probably hoping I’ll come home but…’

The gray haired man stated he was surprised they didn’t know about the process which quickly caused him to laugh “I mean…at one point I did…before I wiped my memories and left the mage’s life behind. You would do your best not to underestimate that brat over there either; she’s a prodigy and definitely understands what you’re talking about.” He stated with a light smirk as he wondered about the circumstances of his more recent memory loss.

It was then that he felt a sudden chill as black shadows swirled around their feet "Wraiths!?" He quickly back flipped away from the spot on the ground as a black mass shot out and started forming into a floating figure in the air, almost a kin to a grim reaper. He didn't have much time to pay attention to the two other wraiths that were attacking the man and his sister but he suddenly remember the most basic rule of dealing with Wraiths. Do not let them get close because they can suck out your soul.

[Eden]

Eden frowned to himself at the sudden appearance of the Wraiths. While they weren’t an overly powerful class of creatures he had not been paid to dispatch them and he was already annoyed enough with the addition of the mage siblings. At first he realized that the others wouldn’t have as much skill when it came to hiding their magical ability so he could have most likely slipped away from the group leaving the two larger targets for the wraiths to attack.

Another thought occurred to him soon after though that quickly became his prefered. If he put in a small amount of effort he would be able to keep the Wraiths away from himself easily dispersing them when need be and he could allow the other two to deal with them allowing him to better asses their powers.

Deciding on the second plan Eden held his arm out in front of him summoning forth a large halberd that he spun around him once before smashing it into the side of the wraith that was approaching him easily dissipating it for the time being. Once that was done he held the weapon behind him watching the other two to see how they dealt with the situation.

[joutenkira]

‘So he fights with a halberd too? How many weapons does he have?’ Mia wondered about the man as she kept narrowly dodging the wraith attacking her. It seemed there was three wraiths all focused on each of them but that didn’t mean the odds weren’t still in the favor. It seemed like her brother Elias was managing to avoid the Wraith but didn’t seem to be attempting to defend herself which made her scowl.

“Elias…what are you planning on doing!? Running away forever!?” She shouted as the Wraith that was about to attack her suddenly shattered into thousands of little white lights. There was only a floating knife in midair where it previously was which then started rapidly spinning around Mia who slowly raised her right hand and pointed towards the Wraith attacking her brother. A ripple opened in midair and the knife flew through it, and it reappeared out of another ripple directly above the other Wraith slicing through it and dispersing it just easily.

“I didn’t ask for your help Mia but it’s much appreciated. Let’s try to find a church or some other kind of holy ground before they reform.” He suggested casually in a manner that showed he was clearly not taking the situation seriously enough. Elias turned towards the man with gray hair and addressed him “If you don’t want to deal with that Wraith chasing you to the ends of the earth you better follow us.”

'Ahh...there he goes again. Elias and his unusual brand of kindness unfit for a mage. He really needs to stop trying to help people that are clearly enemies.' She thought to herself as she pulled out a second dagger and left her original one floating in the air near her brother just in case.

[Eden]

Eden let the weapon dissipate away once all three of the wraiths had been dispatched. Having watched the two of them his earlier assessment was proving correct in that the girl was the only noteworthy person there. The boy seemed to be both incompetent and Eden was beginning to suspect that his mental capability might also be hindered somehow, not only did the boy not fight but then he found it necessary to instruct someone else on the proper way of dealing with a Wraith.

“While there is a church nearby and two other sacred sites that would do to protect you from them what do you plan to do after that?” He asked simply adjusting his tie before righting the cuffs of his shirt. “Unless you can somehow force the wraith onto the sacred soil with you retreating to one such location will do nothing since the creature will simply wait till you depart said location before resuming the attack which could prove fatal to you if your sister is not on hand to take care of you”