Taking shortcuts and using the dark corners to his advantage, Kannagi arrived at a massive clearing surrounded by two tall buildings on either side.
He knew these alleys like the back of his hand.
So, despite having a physical disadvantage against those two men, he had managed to shake them off.
That had left him breathless, his stomach carrying knots inside it.
Still, Kannagi would exchange the hollow, knotty feeling for the sharp, biting pain any day.
Sadly, the God who talked to him had a cruel truth to tell him, tightening the knots in his stomach even more.
One of them has a Tracker Quirk, the God said, sounding amused. I can feel his mark on you. They will be here soon…
Kannagi's face couldn't even take a paler color anymore.
Panting like a dying man, feeling the prickly dryness in his throat, he looked up and stared at the darkness in front of him.
That was the only opening to this… secret place of his.
The alley itself was as wide as a city road, with dumpsters lined in rows against the wall to his right. To his left, there were several protrusions on the wall, resembling stony beds, attached to the windows.
Kannagi usually crashed on one of those stony beds.
There would be no sleeping for him today, he guessed.
He looked over his shoulder and stared at the massive iron railing blocking the second half of the alley. He had climbed it once. It led to the market outside, after taking two more right turns. But climbing the railing would take at least five minutes.
Ten, given his state now, Kannagi corrected himself.
Even if he did manage to go over the fence before the men arrived, it wouldn't make the mark on him disappear.
So, no matter where he would go or how far he would run, there was no escape for him.
Use it, God suggested. Use the power I gave you, Kannagi. Pray to me. Accept my blessing. And leave behind your past once and for all. This is the moment—the only opportunity. Either you grab it or… Haha… Muster your courage. If not for yourself, then… for Eri.
Kannagi remembered Eri.
The way she had pleaded for him.
The way she had been crying, hugging herself.
Something was wrong. She wasn't a rich kid of some rich restaurant owner. She was… suffering.
"There he is!" a voice rang from the darkness, sounding thoroughly pissed. "Bastard thought he could get away from me. Humph!"
Kannagi took a deep breath, deciding.
He would do it for Eri.
He would… do it for himself, too.
He would do it to leave behind this life and become… a Hero.
Kannagi bolted toward the nearest dumpster and took out a robotic, hand-sized figurine from behind it.
It was a white-blue Mecha toy that Eri had given him the last time they had met.
But since that time, the toy had… changed, gaining several strange, indecipherable glyphs.
As the two burly, bald men walked out of the darkness, a hideous scowl dancing on their lips, Kannagi brought the Mecha toy in the middle of the alley and put it on the ground.
Then, as the Villains walked toward him, he… prayed.
"The Lord of Dimensions;
The Eye Overlooking the Mortal Realm;
The Source of All Illusions
The Creator of the Painting World…"
The two men, ordered to kill the boy, stopped dead in their tracks.
It wasn't because of the sight of a small urchin praying with his hands clasped together. The thing that had spooked them so much was the language that the boy had used. It was unlike any other language they had heard of. They weren't language experts by far, but there was something about the language that told them it wasn't… natural.
Meanwhile, not knowing the meaning of the words himself, Kannagi finished chanting the prayer in the language the God had called Jotun.
The two men looked around, as if waiting for something to happen. But it was so silent that the only things they could hear were the distant horns and the squeaks of rats in the dumpsters next to them.
"The little fucker's buying time!" one of the bald men, who had beaten the boy last time, said.
"For what?!" the other replied. "Who's gonna come to save a trash?!"
Both decided that it didn't matter.
Together, and even more pissed than before, they continued toward the boy, taking out two long knives.
However, Kannagi knew something had changed because he knew it would.
The incomprehensible markings on the toy squirmed and wriggled like worms.
Yes, God said, sounding very, very satisfied. Good, Kannagi. Very good. Now, concentrate on your Spirituality and…
This was only Kannagi's second time activating it.
So, trying his best to ignore the reflection of the blades, he concentrated, outstretching his hands.
Then, Kannagi willed it: "Territory Creation…"
A formless hum echoed out of the Totem on the ground in front of the Sequence 9 Shaman and spread over a hundred meters.
Instantly, the pain, hunger, and nauseating feeling hounding Kannagi… vanished.
Slowly, he took a deep breath, and his Spirit Body came out, hovering an inch over the ground behind his true body.
All people within the Territory — those residing in the building and the two murderous men — found themselves slowing down. Their Spirit Bodies were getting pulled out of their bodies, interfering with their thoughts, reasoning, and all senses.
The two black-suited men had already raised their knives, but they also looked sluggish.
Kannagi knew he couldn't separate their Spirit Bodies from their bodies completely yet.
So, he took another deep breath, attracting motes of golden particles from all around.
They came from the people, the rats, the water, the little shrubs.
From everywhere!
The little, feverish Spirituality he held suddenly ballooned, making Kannagi feel… awesome… like a Hero.
Kannagi's Spirit Body, now looking much more solid than before, opened its eyes and made fists.
And swirls of lights gathered around him, becoming a storm, taking the form of two humongous, robotic arms.
Then, pulling back his hands, Kannagi punched.
A squelching BOOM echoed against the walls…
… blood splattering in all directions, painting Kannagi's smiling face red.
********************
Note: Original Cinematic, Character Image of the Totem, Kannagi, and Kannagi's Spiritual Body (with Spiritual Robotic Arms) is available