The Eastern District of the Dhrantian Empire. Your typical industry hive, also known as the Ring of Steel. Seething towers surrounding the district earned it that nickname and are constantly spewing forth thick clouds of sooty smoke—the same color as steel after being burned. The air was always hazy in this district, despite this, there were no signs of pollution-related illnesses caused by inhaling the black smoke. This was due to the special Aetherite the city was laced with, which consumed the smog and pumped out clean air. This place was nothing but workshops filled with smiths working 24/7 to churn out weapons, tools, vehicles, parts for machinery, and anything else.
The Broken Anvil, a factory operated by the innovative Dwarves, is renowned for its C-Tech weapons and armor. They are commissioned by adventurers and mercenaries from around the world to upgrade or repair their gear. While The Broken Anvil's rates are quite expensive, many adventurers owe their lives to its excellent craftsmanship.
The Broken Anvil is accompanied by the grand Geyser Foundry - an immense complex driven by steam and a subterranean river. When the hot furnaces are in use, vibrant orange flashes of light linger in the sky. The dwarves there collaborate closely with the empire's research and development teams to improve their military defenses, combining their ancient wisdom with the most recent advances in science. Together, they construct automatons.
Neither of these is the location Will is heading towards. He had taken leave from Callum's home in Zyrah in a hurry. He was not up for waiting around, due to the looming dangers and because, unlike him who does not require sleep or sustenance, Liz and Callum were nearing their limits. Opting to travel alone seemed like the most feasible solution. His intended destination being the Kiln Warehouse, a place he would have never thought of revisiting.
Normally, it would take more than an hour to reach the Ring of Steel, but thanks to his Memento Mori, which he used to construct a giant skeletal bird, it only took ten minutes to arrive. Now, perched atop one of the smoke stacks, he sits atop the creature, slowly returning it back to ash as he stares down at the Kiln Warehouse, his eyes glowing more fervently than when he left.
The Kiln Warehouse, a vast brick-and-steel structure with billowing clouds of smoke emerging from its smokestacks. Unlike the other industrial sites, this building specializes in the production of decorative pieces such as furniture, glassware, and more.
Jules' voice was laced with worry as she asked, "Asche! You're not planning on diving head first into the Hell Gate, are you?"
Will doesn't answer. The fissures in his skin radiate with an intense glow as he stands up on the smoke stack. His body is enveloped by the cloud.
"Asche, you need to calm down. You're emotions are spiking."
"..."
"I'm calling for the Hell Guard—you're in no condition to—"
Will takes a Depp breath and closes his eyes. His hand touches the black spot on his neck, cutting communication, "Sorry Jules, but this is personal." He says while refocusing his gaze on the Kiln Warehouse, which looms below him like a giant beast. The smoke stacks blowing out black clouds that look like tendrils writhing around ready to grasp its prey.
He takes another deep breath, and jumps off, diving straight for a glass window.
***
Inside the Kiln Warehouse, in a room separated from the roaring furnaces, sits Cravyn. He has a gold shirt on with the sleeves rolled up, the collar is kept open revealing a series of fangs tattooed around his neck, as if he was wearing a necklace of teeth. Each one has the tip inked red to resemble blood dripping from the fangs. A black jacket is slung over his chair. He has short brown hair, and a prominent scar resembling a hole, on one cheek, as if something had tore through it. There's a slight crook to his nose, even after getting it fixed, the bend is still there.
"Shit!" Cravyn murmurs to himself as he pours a drink. "What did I do? Th-that thing wasn't Aeron." He chugs the pale liquid down, "Damn it! She fucking lied to me..." He stands up, and walks towards the window overlooking the factory. There he sees all his hard working employees managing the kiln to produce the finest glass wares in the kingdom. "It's all that bastards fault."
Craven had been pouring his heart and soul into constructing the Kiln Warehouse when tragedy struck. His mother was killed, and the police failed to find the killer. Craven resorted to desperate measures: smuggling exotic items, selling them at a high mark on the black market and pocketing most of the profits. The illicit activities progressed until he was dealing in arms and kidnapping. Eventually, with persistence, his organization -the Ivory Fangs- became one of the most influential factions in the Empire, completely beyond the reach of justice. This was, of course, due to him having explicit knowledge that kept him free.
The furnaces in the warehouse looked like giant monsters. The jagged teeth of their mouths open wide, ready to devour anything that came near them. Sparks flew from the eye and mouth openings, creating a scene reminiscent of that one night.
Cravyn downed another glass before gingerly touching the scar on his face. It was the evening when his men had brought an unconscious Will to him. Although, Will was faking it, and at the moment Cravyn was closest to him, Will smashed his head into Cravyn's nose, breaking it, and stealing his gun in one swift motion. Without hesitating, Will fired. By some fortune, as Cravyn cocked his head towards Will, and as he was about to give the order to fire the aether bolt passed through his cheeks leaving a grisly gash. One man seized the opportunity and struck Will in the back of the head, disabling him.
Cravyn had spent hours interrogating Will about the whereabouts of Aeron, leaving his body battered and bruised before resolving to feed him to one of the furnaces without bothering to tie him up. As the heat flared up, Cravyn noticed Will sitting himself up, smile smugly, and raise his middle finger before being consumed by the flames.
As the flames danced around, he catches a glimpse of Will's atrocious smile, and broken finger. Despite his hatred towards him, he wishes he could have someone like Will working for him. He admired the ferocity he showed, no one he knew, not even his brother had that same tenacity.
Sunddenly, a loud crash is heard. Cravyn looks up towards the ceiling, a single window has broken, and shards rain down. To his surprise he sees a sole figure flying down.
"CRAAAVYN!" The figure says looking towards the main office.
"No... it can't be," Cravyn whispers, his face drained of the color. He hadn't heard that voice or seen that face, twisted with fury and hate, in years, but he'd recognize him anywhere. "You're supposed to be dead," he breathes out while inching himself away from the window, eyes widened with terror.
His eyes lit ablaze as smoke gushes out of the cracks in his body, wrapping around him like a wispy cowl. Will roars, "I'm gonna erase you!" rating a solitary finger in Cravyn's direction.
***
Responding to the imminent threat, Cravyn's workers ceased their labor and abandoned the crates they had been holding. Reaching for the weapons on their hips, they held them firmly in their hands. Some had a simple shooter, like Callum's IMB, but some of the others had more advanced models like the RAB-M3 (Rapid Aether Blaster - Model 3), which has a deep, glossy black color. These firearms were equipped with Full Moon Clips of six bullets each, which are loaded in the back of the gun, and a button above the trigger enables the shooter to switch rounds swiftly. Thanks to its rapid rate of fire, the gun could release 30 blasts per second and expel an entire bullet of aether within 60 seconds.
A hailstorm of magical shots raced upward at Will, piercing his body, and plowing through his head. However, his Memento Mori is in full effect. Healing the holes instantaneously. To Cravyn and his workers, it appeared as if the blasts phased through Will's body.
Ash particles drift outward from the sleeve of his jacket, swirling around the finger he raised at Cravyn. Drawing his arm close to his side, Will yelled, "You're all dead!", slashing with his arm as if it were a sword. A wave of ash rocketed forward, and engulfed the building in an instant.
Craven's view is obstructed, his window completely covered by the ash, but he could hear the screams. They pierced through glass, and shook him to his core. "This can't be happening." He said, when all the ash begins swirling around like a vortex. It's being funneled into the center of the building. Slowly, as the ash vanishes, Cravyn is able to see his men. Each one is being attacked by large skeletal hands forming from the ash. As they try to escape, more and more arms appear, surrounding them. Gripping there legs and slamming them into the ground or the wall, and standing in the middle of everything is Will staring right at Cravyn.
Craven can't see anything beyond his window due to the thick layer of ash obstructing his view. All he could do was listen to the agonizing screams of his comrades. "This can't be happening," he murmurs, watching the ash swirl around like a cyclone, and being funneled into the center of the building. And then Craven saw them: his men were being attacked by large skeletal hands formed from the ashes around them. As the tried to escape, more and more arms arose, ensuring their legs, and throwing them helplessly around helplessly. In the middle of it all stood Will, glaring right at Craven.
One worker was able to find an opening, and immediately fired at Will. A dozen red blasts soared through Will's body. A stream of red sparks burst from his body. Not looking away, a dozen skeletal arms appeared from beneath his cowl. They stretched out, and quickly surrounded the man gripping his body tight, and dragging him away.
Will took a step forward, the cracks beneath his face burned brightly, and his ribcage protruded from his back. He knew he was beginning to howl again, and he tried to stay in control of himself; but, seen that man again and knowing he was responsible for all of this made Will's nonexistent blood boil. In a frenzy, he leapt at the window, claws forming around his hands, and he clung to the wall. "Let's finish this Cravyn."
Cravyn jumped back. He couldn't help but think, Will was a demon straight from hell. He reached for his gun, and aimed it at Will's head. It was the only thing he could think of to do. His hands shook and his fingers wouldn't tighten around the trigger.
Will thrust his arm back, and it transformed into a giant claw as he smashed through the window. Shards of glass scattered everywhere, slicing into Cravyn's body.
The gun fell from his hands, and he dropped to the ground. He was too afraid to move; all he could do was stare up at Will in terror. Will's eyes had a savage, wild glint to them, as if he was ready to unleash his wrath on Craven. Time seemed to stand still in that moment, until Will snarled and lunged forward with a roar.
Craven scrambled away just in time, narrowly avoiding being grabbed by one of the skeletal arms. "What did you do?" Will growls.
"Huh? I've done nothing."
Will's cowl stretched outwards as tendrils erupted from it, forming another hand which snatched up Cravyn's desk and hurled it at him.
Cravyn avoided being smashed by his own desk. "I don't know what you mean. I've done a lot since I killed you."
"Your fucking brother."
In that instant, Cravyn understood everything. He recalled the mysterious woman who appeared at his door weeks earlier. "It was a witch." He said as Will charged him.
Will stopped a few inches from Cravyn's face. "What witch?" He snarled. His sanity is slowly fading.
"I don't know who she was. All I could see was a long robe draped over her body, and she kept her face hidden. She promised me I'd be able to see Aeron again if I followed her instructions. Please, I just wanted my brother back. She didn't tell me that Aeron turned into that, that thing.
"Where is it?" Will asks hitting the wall with his hand. "Where is the gate!?"
"I-i-in the basement." Cravyn blurts out, covering his face, trying to hide from Will's flaming eyes.
Will pulls his arm back. It lengthened and grew denser, like a creature retreating into its shell. It became a heavy rod, made of bone. As the hand at the end of that rigid body inched closer in preparation to strike it began spinning faster and faster. Until the only thing that could be heard was the whirring air. He was almost there, Will's hand hovered above Cravyn's heart. Soon he would plunge this spear through Cravyn's chest.
Will uttered to himself, "That's all I needed," and thrust his arm forward. He was immediately engulfed in a strange eerie green light and with a powerful force, he was catapulted through the wall and crashed onto the floor.
Will quickly stood up, and roared. His eyes bounced around the building. All of Cravyn's men were still incapacitated. They couldn't have stopped him.
"Whew. I made it right on time," the voice sang out in Will's ears. Looking up, he was stunned to see someone he did not expect standing upside down on the roof of the building. This stranger had shaved sides and a bushy mop of dreadlocks which were decorated with metal spikes at the ends. His forehead was marked with a jagged starburst scar that spread under both eyes and stopped at his cheeks. Black joggers with green strips ran down each leg, while a ripped hooded jacket and dark sleeveless tie-dyed curved hem tee completed the outfit. "Ashy... You were really going to do it?"
"Levin! Why are you here?" Will asked.
"Jules called me. Said you were about to do something stupid. Looks to me, she made the right call. You're just about completely howled."
"Stay out of it. I don't need the Hell Guards help. I'm gonna erase that bastard, and then head for the gate."
"Yeah..." Levin scratches the back of his head. "Not gonna happen. You're not erasing anyone, and leave the gate to me."
Will yells out in rage, and charges towards Cravyn's office without even blinking at Levin. Then, suddenly, Levin is there in a cloud of green electricity. Before Will can react, the lightning-covered figure kicks him hard in the chest and sends him flying into one of the furnaces.
"Come on Ashy, I'm not gonna let you do that. Let's calm down, and..."
Will rises once more, the intensity in his cries growing. His arms have morphed into giant claws and another two appendages have sprouted from his cowl. Smoke bellows from his ribcage as he barrels forward, determined to clear everyone out of his path.
Levin jumps away from the wall, and takes a defensive stance. He begins twisting and contorting his body, stretching out his limbs. This is gonna be tough," he mumbles. "All right, let's see if your Memento more can keep up with mine." he declares as green electricity bursts from his body. "13 Fulminating Bullets, locked and loaded."