Invokers~ Fragments of sorrow and hope.

Prologue: "Final days" [Part one]

A year has past since the Day of Judgment, a memorable day when the mortals pitted themselves against the army of the gods and emerged victorious with the help of a few individuals. Though the gates were now sealed, the world itself hasn't healed. Humans have grown more tempered with the lost of faith in their gods. Many wars have started due to that fact...from the ridiculous reasons of a country having too much land, to religious reasons of hating people who refuse to shun away their faith. And though the battle between dreads and angels only happened in Reina's hometown, it has affected the world one way or another.

However in all this madness, there's still one powerful country that continues its peace or...so it claims. And oddly, it's where the fateful battle began...

The morning sky was covered with endless gray clouds that made it seemed as though it was going to rain, and the wind was howling as though it had lost something dear to it. Two young teenagers were racing each other on their bikes, their destination? Simply, was to get to school on time. Pedaling as fast as they could, the two boys were making good time. When suddenly, one of them began heading left of their normal road that was to cross the bridge before turning towards their school. He wore a red shirt matching his dark blue jeans. He was quite good looking with smooth black hair flying in the wind accompanied with soothing black-seated eyes. Directing his bike towards the railing of a stairway, he lifted his bike upwards and balanced himself while the wheels of his bike rolled him down the rail. Then just before his bike reached the river he was heading downwards to...he made another leap into the air with his bike and did a 360-degree spin before landing on a speedboat passing by.

"Heh, show off." The other young teenager commented as he pitted his bike against the speedboat. Although he was quickly falling behind, the young teenager remained calm and focus. Wearing a black coat in a very mysterious manner, the young man also had black seated-eyes but accompanied with dark brown hair jelled upwards on one side. Soon they were reaching their school, the young man leading ahead was just about to jump when all of a sudden the speedboat went the other way of the river. "Hey stop! Wait! Noooooooo!!!!" his voice echoed as he was now heading away from his school.

The other teenager on the other hand arrived at his school a few minutes later. "It never pays to show off..." he commented as he made his way to secure his bike on a parking space just for bikes. When he reached there, he realized that the area was empty...

"Weird...I thought we were running late." He said, not knowing of what had really happened. As he searched the entire school for anyone he could clear his doubts with...he soon realized that the school was deserted. And oddly he was the only one there...not even the teachers could be found.

****Four hours soon passed and it was recess time****
The sky now was bright blue, clear of clouds and any chances of rain. Two friends were resting on the stairway while discussing of their morning.
"Oh...you dope! You woke me up an hour early!" the one in black shouted as he landed his fist on top of his friend's head.

"Hah...at least we weren't late." His friend debated as he rubbed the sore part on his head.

"Well...you should have known better then to use him as an alarm clock." A female's voice cut in as she took a seat besides them.

There was a moment of silence from the one in the black coat as he realized his female friend was right. However just as he was about to apologize, there was a special announcement for all students to proceed to the hall.

Soon, just about everyone had arrived...the hall was a very grand place with it's red curtains on the stage and perfect lighting. And today, the curtains were closed and the lighting pointing towards them...obviously the school staffs were going to introduce someone to the school. The question is...who? And why was the person here?

The questions were soon answered as the principle raised the curtain to reveal a smartly dressed man in a black suit, while introducing him. "Ahem, today we are all gathered here to welcome our new vice-principle...Mr. Cryhell." His hair was combed back, and his purple eyes showed a strict, confident look. Cryhell basically looked just like any vice-principle...however the three friends can't help but felt a weird dark aura around him. And just as Mr. Cryhell was about to speak, unexpectedly the sound of thunder could be heard echoing throughout the school...followed by the sound of heavy drops of water crashing on to the surface of the ground. It was raining...when a few minutes ago, the sky was as clear as an empty jar. Stunned and surprised, the students all turned their attention to their new vice-principle. "Well what do you know..." he started off knowing that he has gotten their attention with that last stroke of luck. "Anyways, besides me...there will be another new face in school. He's a new student, named Rein Luvensen. Lets give him a warm welcome, shall we?" he said warmly as he stepped aside to reveal a young teenager with dark blonde hair, his eyes closed as he leaned on the wall at the end of the stage. He wore clothing with a mixture of black and white, his jacket was also styled with many belts that don't seem to clip to anywhere. Upon hearing the applause, he slowly opened his eyelids to reveal his beautiful golden eyes before making his way towards the mike. However instead, of saying anything else..all he did was a bow before joining the other students below. "Okay...well, as your new vice-principle I'll be sure to look out for you students needs...blah bleh etc. I'm sure you guys don't want to listen to empty promises...so I'll just be straight. Nothing's going to change, but if I catch any of you misbehaving...I assure you. There will be dire consequences. That is all...now, return back to class."

Class went on as usual, but when it was dismissal time...just about everyone was talking about the new principle.

"I just don’t see what’s the heap about this...he's just like any other vice-principle." A young teenager commented as he rested his head on his desk, waiting for his friends to finish packing their lockers.
"Well...I admit you have a point there Livan, but still...I can't help but sense something weird about him. A sense of uncertainty lurks around every move he makes...and every word he says." A young female teenager replied as convincing as she could be.

"Heh, it's not like there's a conspiracy going on or anything...so why worry so much Reina?" another young teenager in a black coat asked as he placed the final book into the locker and locked it.

"I just can't help it Suiku...you know I'm always right about these things..." Reina argued back as she too finished packing her locker.

"We'll just have to wait and see then. Besides...if anything were suspicious I would say it would have to be the new kid. After all...it's not everyday you see a transferred student appearing with a new vice-principle. It makes you wonder why he came here...and what happened before he did." Livan explained as he got up, prepared to leave as well.

As the three were just about to leave the school, something caught Suiku's eye. It was the so-called new kid...Rein. On the grounds of the school red concourse, there he was...with the members of the kendo club. "Heh, fancy seeing you in my way new kid. I never thought I would get the chance to knock some sense into you so soon." One of them taunted as he raised his kendo stick. The young man was the leader of the kendo club, he had not only won many trophies but had also brought the school much fame. Then again just about every club in their school that competed with sports always did well.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Reina asked worriedly as she sensed a fight brewing.

"No...this is how we settle things here. The weak must bend to the strong. Harsh...but effective. Hah but don't worry...there are always nice strong people who protect the weak as well. I guess this must be the first fight you've seen here, come to think of it your new here too huh? Reina..." Suiku explained as he rested his arms comfortably on the railings...preparing for a good show.

"Heh, the strong protecting the weak? You talking about yourself?" Reina teased as she too got comfortable.

"Nah...maybe sometimes, but if you want a perfect example...just look at that kind hearted fool running towards them." Suiku commented as he pointed to a teenager wearing a red shirt and dark blue jeans.

"Livan..."

Dark clouds began gathering above the school again...it seems that today was just meant to be a rainy day. "You don't have to be here..." Rein said softly, trying to assure the concerned Livan, as he held out one of his arms to stop him. "You sure?" Livan asked before taking a step back when he saw Rein nodding.
"Just watch the show..."

"I first presumed that you were annoying, but never did I thought you would be so arrogant as well. I guess it must be fate that brought me to you...in order to teach you some manners!" the leader cried out as he stood in his fighting stance, his two hands gripping the handle of the stick and holding it up towards Rein. Rein quickly reacted by standing in his own fighting stance. The rest of the kendo members then quickly charge forth to ensure their victory, "Argh...you fools, it's supposed to be a one on one fight!" their leader shouted in a frustrated manner. However, to his surprise...Rein was able to dodge the first few swings of the kendo attacks, before making two of them his own by pulling the sticks while making a kick to each of their owners. And with his new weapons, Rein made short work of the remaining followers. The rain soon started…with the fall of the last opposing kendo stick, and Rein felt his heart being flooded by the emotions that came with it. Closing his eyes, he began meditating... "Rain? Not impressed." Their leader commented as he approached quickly towards Rein. "Oh? Then allow me to enlighten you." Rein replied as he opened his eyes and gave a cold hard stare, before defending himself with one of the kendo sticks he held backwards. Immediately after that, he began his attack swiftly with the kendo stick he held upright…but all swings were easily blocked. "So...what's your name big shot? I see that your no push over..." Rein taunted as he retreated back to await an attack. "It's Kain, Kain Slasfer. And don’t think you'll win just because you hold two sticks." The leader confidently replied as he charged forward, thrusting his stick with such a great might that the rain drops could be seen breaking into mist. Realizing the technique was based on brute force, Rein gave a grin before countering the attack by changing the direction of the thrust with an upwards swing of his backwards stick. And a side-wards swing launched by a kick into the ground. The swing forced Kain flying into the air, but quickly landing on his feet. "Like I said before...not impressed." He taunted in an assuring manner as he revealed that the blow didn’t hurt him at all...apparently his stick had came just in time to block the impact. Rein gave a slight smile, it had been a long time since he had gotten into a good fight...as most of the time his battles were simply against just punks who think that they can fight just because they can throw a punch. "Well then...I guess it’s time to show you why...they call me Rain."

Tilting his feet forward and closing his eyes, Rein's body slowly moved forward without needing to lift a leg. It resembled moonwalking but without all the moving of the thighs and moon walking is usually done backwards. However, though as odd as it looked...Kain was once more not impressed as Rein was moving too slowly for the feat to be threatening. Soon Rein began making his move, just as he opened his eyes...his body looked as though it had shot straight towards Kain. Stunned by the speed, Kain couldn't react fast enough...and was slammed hard in the stomach by a kendo stick. The forceful impact combined with the incredible speed, sent Kain flying towards the school flag post. However, Kain seemed to be quick on his feet as he regained his balance in mid-air and sent himself rocketing towards Rein by rebounding from the flag post. Rein quickly reacted by sending himself shooting towards the side, barely dodging the thrusting kendo stick. As Kain came in contact with the ground, his kendo stick burst into millions of itty-bitty pieces. The impact also caused the raindrops around him to burst into a refreshing mist of water splashing on to his face. Looking back at the pieces of wood...Rein made a slight smile again. "Nice...very nice. Now...if only you can control the movement of your power in mid air." Rein advised as he threw his other kendo stick to Kain. Surprised by his foe’s gift, Kain grinned and replied to him in a confident manner. "This time...I won't miss."

However, before they could start it up again...a voice from behind them interrupted. "You don't have to...this fight is over. Unless any of you wishes to feel my wrath." The young man who shouted wore a loose tie, and crystal clear blue shades. His lightly colored black hair was messy, but oddly it gave him his own style. He also wore a white-collar shirt and brown jeans. Slowly, he stood between them and gave the both a welcoming glare.

"Whose that?"

"Oh him...he's nobody, just the president of the student council."

"Oh...I see. Is he popular with the girls?" Reina asked jokingly as she saw a bunch of cheerleaders gathering while shouting out the name "Wrath! Wrath! Wrath!"

"Well...see for yourself. And yes, I know what you're going to ask next...they call him wrath because he likes to boast about his. Basically, the ladies like him...and the guys hate him. Hah."

"Kain...I thought you knew better then this...no fighting on school grounds."

"I don't need your nagging Wrath...besides, your way of welcoming new students is no better..." Kain argued back as he withdrew his kendo stick while waiting for Wrath to deliver his welcoming gift. And soon enough, a mighty punch was thrown straight into Rein’s stomach. "Heh, I almost forgot." Wrath commented as he watched Rein almost falling to his knees.

The pain was almost unbearable to take and still stand. However it wasn't the first time that Rein had felt such a powerful punch…so it didn't came as quite a shock. He barely stood firmly where he was and commented to Wrath, "Nice...yours powerful too..."

"You aren't so bad yourself kid...now...do want to stand here all day or do you want to go back home without visiting the principle?" Wrath calmly asked as he took out his cell phone and was prepared to make a call to the principle if needed.

Rein quickly realized that there was no way of continuing this fight without putting him in trouble…and decided to take the second option, but before he did…he launched a powerful punch back towards Wrath. Sending him flying towards Kain. "A punch for a punch..." he said as he slowly made his way towards the school gate on the upper floor. However, before he could reach there he had to pass by Suiku...and as he did they exchanged eye contact with each other...as if sending a message to the other.

"I sense fear within you."

"You got to be kidding me."