Silver Lies Within the Hell We Created

Drenched in sweat, Ashley jolted up from the emerald green grass under the bright blue sky. She looked around in a daze, her eyes slightly reddening from the tears she cried.

"Was it a dream?"

She asked, placing her hand over her heart. It was beating normally. She took a few breaths to calm herself down mentally. What she saw had to have been real. There was no doubt about it. But understanding how it was real was a different issue. She looked around once again. The traces of the monochrome world were nowhere to be seen, everything as vibrant as before. The body she found lay before her in its grotesque glory. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at the head of the deceased person.

"It's normal…"

The head was that of a young man whose expression showed nothing but a twisted smile as a lit cigarette hung from his mouth. A gentle breeze blew past, filling Ashley's nostrils with the lavender scent and calming her down.

"Was it a dream or not-"

"A dream would be something you have made up in your head." A voice called out from behind her. A familiar voice that she recognized just before she entered that hell. She turned around and found Ansel sitting on top of a weathered pillar. She noticed his outfit matched the same one the other 'her' wore in her dream. His expression was unwelcoming and quite terrifying in a way, but that did not bother Ashley.

Whether it be the curiosity she felt towards the man or the relaxing aroma of the lavender scent that filled her body with relief, she was unafraid of the man. However, she kept a safe distance from him, as she remembered how easily he lifted her by the leg. Though the pain she felt from earlier had disappeared, she still remembered his tight grip around her leg. He was serious about harming her, and if she lowered her guard more than she had already, she would not come out unharmed.

Ansel noticed her calculating gaze; a crooked smile danced on his face. His eyes peered into her, seeming to intimidate her. "So what is it? Surely, a pretty lady such as yourself staring at me with such an intense look only serves to wound my poor soul."

Ashley softened her expression, not knowing her gaze was harsh. But as she did, she noticed there was a strange attitude in his voice that failed to match his face. It almost sounded like remorse mixed in with the usual cockiness he spoke with.

"Just who are you?" Seeing that he was at least willing to talk with his unfriendly look, she asked him a simple question. Her voice was flat as she tried to mask her slight hate towards the man.

"I'm simply a detective from the city of Pandora." Hearing those words, Ashley's heart seemed to gasp out from within, but the eyes he gave her quickly ruined the mood. Small crimson veins stretched out from his suit, covering his neck. He bore a silent look of suffering that only seemed to worsen as the veins on his body pulsed with each heartbeat. A bright red liquid flowed from the corner of his mouth; as it did, his pained expression seemed to soften, if only by a small amount. Ansel stood up and let out an annoyed groan as he moved towards the girl. "You are an enigma, a puzzle I can't unravel. Just like the case itself," he snarled, his voice dripping with hostility and a bitterness that seemed to hang in the air.

"What is that supposed to mean, you creep?" Ashley backed up, keeping the distance between them the same.

"Simple, if my senses weren't dulled from that corpse right there, I could tell if you are a gifted, a cursed, or maybe a…" There was a dramatic pause as the crimson veins began to change towards an ebony black. He clenched his fist and glared at her. "Or maybe you're an Omen? A creature born from the will of God to punish this sinful-" Before he could finish, he fell to his knees. His heavy breathing was ragged, and sweat dripped down his face onto the blades of grass below.

Ashley was hesitant to move forward. She feared he might try to do something if she helped him. So she watched him writhe in pain. "What are you talking about? I am human, just like you." The lavender scent faded as the cigarette from the corpse's mouth had burnt up. Fear quickly overcame her, and she moved further back. "Something is wrong with you. Something is very wrong. The way you are behaving now and how you acted this morning shows that. You need help."

"HA—Human? What a joke. I wished I was human. But thanks to the city, people like you and I are seen as nothing more than a subclass of humans not deserving of any rights. We or ether weapons or threats." Ansel stood back up; the ebon veins regained their color as the pain he felt subsided. He reached into his suit and pulled out a silver dagger, the same one she had seen lodged in the tree just before she found herself in that monochrome world. "My job is to determine which one you are. Should you be a threat, I will cut you down here and now." He thrust the dagger into his own arm, scattering blood over the grass. As he pulled out the blade, his wound hissed, and steam emitted from it. She watched as the wound was quickly stitched back together by crimson veins.

Ansel then sat down, resting his face in his palm. He showed no effort in trying to move. It was an obvious chance for Ashley to run, but something about the way he stabbed himself felt off. The men in the town would usually do dumb stunts to show their toughness to impress her, but each always hesitated ever so slightly. Ansel, on the other hand, showed no hesitation; he was fully committed to injuring himself. More veins grew from his body, each reverting to an ebony black.

Her legs were telling her to run. She felt something off, but her curiosity once again got the best of her. Or maybe she wanted to experience the outcome as a way to atone. "What are 'Gifteds' and 'Curseds?' And why do you believe I might be one of them?"

Ansel panned his head. His expression was the answer she needed. The pain in his eyes screamed at her. He wanted her to run. He was fighting something, and judging by how the veins on his body continued growing, he was losing.

"You are an idiot." He muttered faintly. "As you wish." He lifted his head and spoke. "A gifted human is a person with the affinity to respond positively towards the replicated creations of God known as Artificial Artifact or AA for short. These artifacts were created to match those gifted from the box of Pandora that plague the city in a silver mist for a week." The box of Pandora was a term that Ashley was very familiar with. Hearing that, her fear subsided, and curiosity once again took over. Ansel smiled over so slightly at her, lowering her guard. He then continued, "A cursed human is a person who can use the full powers of the Original Artifacts, or OA, created by the box. These artifacts, however, eat away at the person's ego with each use, slowly withering them away until they become a soul husk for the artifact to take over. These artifacts then become lesser Omen." Ansel pointed to the familiar camera that was used to blind her twice. "Because of that, the city sees the cursed as a threat. We can only live a somewhat peaceful life by being an asskisser and acting as their tools until we fade out of existence."

"So that story is real, regarding the box and all?" Ashley's eyes shimmered as Ansel raised a brow at her question.

"You seriously have a screw loose in that pretty head of yours. Do you not understand the danger you are currently in?" Ansel's warning fell on deaf ears, and Ashley moved closer to him, forgetting the fear she once felt. A sigh left his lips as the veins stretched a little more. "Whatever, this is a taboo story, naïve miss. If a non-official person from within the city or an outsider knew of this story, they would be killed in a heartbeat. However, if you really want to know before your final moments, I won't stop you. Seeing that cute look on your face might be the best thing to happen all day." The veins changed back to crimson as the look of life returned to his face. "Though I have to wonder, how did you even hear about the box? Not even that old fart, Cypress refused to believe such a story." Ansel placed his face in front of Ashley's, prompting her to punch him as a reflex. He effortlessly caught the punch.

"Watch it, mister," Ashley growled a little as she backed up. "Wait, if it's taboo, then why did you tell him?"

"His hands are stained with meaningless blood." Ansel shrugged his shoulders as if brushing off what he just said. "A person who kills another for the sake of a one-sided love is nothing more than a selfish man who shows no genuine love or loyalty towards the person he did it for. As funny as fate is, karma bit him back really hard and killed the woman he was trying to get as well. And as a means of covering up this failure, he slaughtered and burned down an entire town." Ansel then began laughing. "Funny, ain't it?"

Ashley looked at Ansel with a pained look. She knew the event she was referring to. She remembers Alder telling her that after her parents were killed, Cypress led the charge to the burning of the town that murdered them. But what bothers her the most is that she remembers Cypress once talking about her late mother while downing a few drinks.

"Wait…what are you talking about?" Ashley's mouth moved on its own. She needed to know the answer, the answer she had been searching for regarding her parents' death.

"Hmm?" Ansel's face turned towards her, morphing into that of a demon's. His terrifying expression paralyzed her mind and body. "Did you not want to know?" He asked as she approached her. "The wish you made was to learn the truth, was it not? If so, why do you look as if you refuse to listen?"

Ashley trembled as he reached out to grab her chin. He gently raises it to look into her eyes. His cold touch caused his skin to shutter. The once crimson veins near his eyes shifted towards an ebony black. One look into his brown eyes erased her fear. There was pain and sadness. The bitter loneliness that she had once felt was the same that he felt. There was no way to know what the man experienced throughout his life, but she knew he had seen hell. He was alone in this cruel world. Towering regrets burdened his soul. Ashley wanted to help him.

"I can help you understand what happened that day," Ansel spoke, still trying to intimidate her.

But she knew that was not his true intention. She knew he was crying out for help. So, as an answer, she decided the path would take. "What? A big tough guy like you trying to intimidate little old me? Get real." Ansel saw the spark of life return to her eyes and moved away. Seeing his attempts fail, he let out a heavy sigh.

"You truly are naïve."