DEADuctions!

Chapter 1: Whispers and Ashes

Hyozo's feet shuffled against the worn linoleum floor of the classroom, the droning of the history lesson barely registering in his mind. Instead, his thoughts were adrift, riding on the sea of whispers that had begun to fill his head in recent weeks. They were faint, like the echo of a dream not quite remembered, yet they held a promise—an invitation of sorts.

"Did you hear about it?" a classmate murmured to another, their voice a conspiratorial hush amidst the monotony of the lecture. "They say there's a way to gain powers, real powers, but it costs you. It costs... parts of you."

Hyozo's pulse quickened. Taxed powers—the rumors had been circulating for some time, stories of people offering something of great personal significance, their 'tax', in exchange for abilities that defied explanation. He glanced around the room, wondering if anyone else could hear the voices, if they too felt the tug toward something inexplicable.

The voices grew clearer as the final bell rang, releasing a flood of students into the corridors. Hyozo lingered, the throng of bodies brushing past him as he stood stock-still, listening.

"Obtain the power you seek," they whispered, a mantra that seemed to pull at his very soul.

His heart thrummed in his chest as he made his way through the emptying halls and out into the cool afternoon air. The voices guided him, leading him through the familiar streets and into the fringes of the city, where the shadows grew long and the buildings bore the scars of neglect.

The abandoned warehouse loomed ahead, its skeletal structure a monument to forgotten industry. Hyozo's hand clenched around the small urn he carried—the ashes of his beloved pet turtle, a friend who had journeyed with him through the loneliness of his young life. He had brought the ashes on a naive impulse, a hope that somehow, in some way, they could be the key to bringing his friend back.

Inside the warehouse, the air was heavy with dust and disuse. A figure emerged from the shadows, their movements deliberate, the very air seeming to warp around them. This was a COLLECTOR, Hyozo realized, a bearer of the COLLECTORS COAT, and a gatekeeper to the power he sought.

The COLLECTOR's gaze fell upon the small urn, and a cruel smile twisted their lips. "A child's offering," they scoffed, their voice a gravelly sneer. "Ashes of a dead pet? Hardly a tax worth noting."

Hyozo's cheeks burned with shame, but the voices urged him on, whispering of potential, of destiny. With a defiant lift of his chin, he presented the urn. "I was told to bring a tax. This is all I have. It's important to me—more than anything."

The COLLECTOR's laughter echoed through the cavernous space, a harsh sound that made Hyozo's insides twist. But the ritual was to be performed, even if it was out of sheer amusement. The COLLECTOR took the ashes, their hands weaving through the air in intricate patterns, as the Chain Realm seemed to bleed into the edges of reality.

Hyozo watched, his heart a mixture of hope and dread, as the COLLECTOR completed the ceremony with a flourish, the ashes of his cherished pet disappearing into the ether.

"Done," the COLLECTOR announced with a dismissive wave. "But don't expect miracles, boy. What you've offered is barely a whisper in the wind."

Yet, as the words left the COLLECTOR's mouth, the warehouse began to tremble, the very foundations of the building groaning under an unseen force. Hyozo's eyes widened, and for a moment, he thought he saw a flicker of doubt cross the COLLECTOR's face.

The voices crescendoed in Hyozo's mind, a cacophony that promised the beginning of something new, something incredible. And at the heart of the turmoil, amidst the swirling dust and the shifting shadows, a single word resonated with the power of the unknown.

"Awaken."

Hyozo's journey had just begun.

MafeMozek