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Friday, May 22, 2026

The Aurian Chronicles Chapter 1: Voidwalker

 The crisp, cold air of New York City blew harshly by as a 1970 Dodge Challenger zipped through the roads. Behind the Driver's seat was a man in his late twenties. He had Dark purple hair and a pale white face with piercing green eyes, as well as a hair flip that just went over his left eye. "Now, Silver, are you sure you got the plan down?" He asked as he looked over to his right.


In the passenger seat, a slightly younger Spanish woman scoffed and rolled her dark blue eyes as the streetlamps reflected off her Silver skin and white hair. "Oh, PLEASE, Derek! Simple: into the crowd, find the target, isolate him, and finish! How hard is that?" She asked while applying her blue lipstick.


He narrowed his eyes at her and gritted his teeth. "I told you! It's DARKNESS when on mission! I let you accompany me on this mission, you could at least have the decency to keep it professional!" He scolded, growling as she made hand puppet motions to mock his words.


"A codename, I might add, that you use EVERYWHERE in your day-to-day life!  At some point, it stops being a codename and starts just being a name... maybe mull on that sometime, my love. She told him while she adjusted her sky blue dress and white boots. She loaded two silver-plated Submachine guns into the back holsters inside her dress. With a spark of silver, the entire dress hugged her every curve flawlessly.


Darkness just grumbled as they pulled into the parking lot of the 'Deadshot lounge.' To Darkness, it looked like it might have been a cool cocktail lounge thirty years ago, but right now, it looked out of place. The entire bar looked like the owner stubbornly refused to change with the times.


"Nice place, straight out of a dollar store Noir movie... I can SMELL the cheap booze from here." Complained Darkness as Silver shook her head. "Oh, good, I'm sure you'll love that then! I'll mingle with the crowds and find the guy we're looking for... Maybe have a drink and try to soften up just a bit? For me?" She asked as she looked up at him and batted her eyes.


Darkness tried to hide a blush as he cleared his throat and nodded. "Fine... But if you need me, please text me immediately!" He said as he hugged her. Silver just nodded and kissed his cheek, leaving a faint patch of blue on his face! "Of course, Mi Amor! Now let's go!" She said as she went on ahead. Darkness just let out an amused sigh as he followed behind a few minutes later to avoid looking suspicious. He straightened his custom Black trenchcoat and bloused his black pants into his combat boots on the way in.


As he walked in, Darkness squinted a bit from the dim lights being used to illuminate the rooms; the cheesy, outdated music echoed in the rooms around him. "Ugh, very good way to make someone want to drink.. a few gallons of watered down liquor, and I'd want to forget I was ever here too!" He said as he sat at the bar. Calling over a chubby older man. He was bald and looked about fifty-eight.


"Give me a Long Island Iced Tea, an Adios Motherfucker, and a Tokyo Tea," Ordered Darkness in a deadpan tone of voice. The bartender raised both eyes at him. "Buddy, you know how much booze is in those drinks?" He asked. Darkness just shrugged and looked around for Silver. "Not enough... if you can't break a fifty, keep the change." He said as he handed him a fifty-dollar bill.


The Bartender just made him all three drinks in rapid succession As Darkness downed them as quick as they came. 'Too much soda,' he thought as he finally got his text and headed toward one of the backrooms.


Silver, meanwhile, was happily stripped down to a golden set of Lingerie while she spun around on a stripper pole in the back room of the bar. "Come on, boys! How's that old song go? Silver and Gold!" She sang happily as a group of men cheered her on. Amongst them was a large, overweight blond man named Al Freight. He was celebrating the acquittal of murdering a young boy who had seen him Sexually assaulting a woman in an alleyway. 


"Hey girl, what say you come back to my place, and I show you some REAL GOLD!" He called as he reached out to touch one of her feet. Silver just pulled her foot back and tutted at him. "I don't think my Husband would like that!" She said, keeping up the dance, causing Al to grit his teeth until his jaw popped. "Listen here bitch! I could buy the company that MADE your wedding ring, and that means I can buy good lawyers to get me off after I'm done with that ass!" He said as he marched toward her, only for a black rope-like vine to wrap around his neck and yank him back into his seat.


When the other men saw what happened, they turned around to see Darkness and reached for their pistols, only for Silver to spray her MPX Submachine guns into them while their heads were turned. "Told ya so!" She said as she slid her Dress back on. 


Al just reached out in vain to try to get the rope off his neck as he saw it come from Darkness's body. "Mr. Allen Freight... Son of Albert Freight... A pleasure to meet you..." He said as he held up a picture of the boy he murdered. "David Greene sends his regards..." He told him before jerking the black tendril and snapping his neck hard.


Darkness just looked at the bodies and took pictures afterward as he texted a cleanup crew, "Did you have to make such a mess?" He asked as he looked up to Silver, who hopped into his Arms. "Hey! A kill is a kill!" She said as Darkness turned them both dark black and walked them outside. It seemed like no one heard any of the shots due to the music and the silenced weaponry.


"You could have just walked us through the walls." Stated Silver, causing Darkness to shake his head. "That's too much Aura at once... I only just got these powers a few years ago... and THAT'S still new... I wasn't born with these powers, or suffered some freak accident like-" But he saw Silver's glare and gulped as he set her in the car.


Silver just leaned back and stretched. "I get your point... Anyway, let's go collect the bounty and maybe see a movie or something?" She asked. Darkness raised a brow at her. "Are you kidding me? It's Lisa's concert tonight! I don't want to miss that!"

"Well, she asked us to... Lisa said something came up that might mess up the concert, and she doesn't want us around when it happens." Responded Silver. Darkness's Eyebrows raised. "She's not... Ashamed of me is she?" He asked in response.


Silver scratched her left wrist and looked down. "No Darkness... This isn't anything you've done... I honestly don't know why she wouldn't want us there... But you're just gonna have to trust your sister to tell you when the time is right, okay?" She asked as she hugged him close.


Darkness just nodded and turned the key to the ignition. "Fine... I just hope she does okay... And that I can at least be welcomed to the next one." He said as he sped off with his wife in tow. The bar rapidly fading out of vision behind them.


"Wait here." Said Darkness as he parked into a driveway in Long Island, a couple of hours later, and walked into a small white house. Darkness noted that the Paint on the outside must have been recently professionally done, which is why he was surprised to see that the inside looked like a complete mess. There were children's toys thrown all over the house, and several punch marks on the walls. The smell of stagnant beer and cigarette smoke followed him all the way to the kitchen as he took a seat and sent out a text of his arrival.


Harsh boot steps echoed throughout the house as an older man in an NYPD uniform with the badges ripped off looked at him. He had a full head of messily cut gray hair and cracked skin. His eyes sagged almost to his jawline from restless sleep, and he now looked incredibly out of shape from a poor diet.

"It's done?" He asked weakly. Darkness just silently nodded. There was a brief pause before the man let out a drunken laugh as his name tag fell off, reading 'David Greene' in front of Darkness. "Ya know? A year ago, I'd have arrested you for admitting to murder... Instead, I'm the guy paying you for doing it! This whole fucking state is so corrupt am I right?!" He asked as he wheezed.


Darkness saw behind David, was a briefcase. He grabbed it and opened it to check that the money was indeed there before he nodded to him. "David... We can't fix the past... Try as we might, what has happened has happened... Maybe try fixing what you can now..." He said, trying to show as much empathy as he could. 


David just shook his head now. "MY wife has left, my son is dead... and I have nothing... But thank you for all you've done... That's my Life savings in your briefcase... I'm ready now..." He said as he pulled a Glock out of his side holster and shot himself in the head.


Darkness narrowed his eyes at the familiar sound of gunfire as he knelt down by David's body, with the blood rapidly staining the carpeting of the floor. "I don't think MY family would want me to die just because they suffered... I think they'd rather I work on building myself into something I could love and understand... But I guess that doesn't matter to you now..." He said as he headed out the door. "...Sorry about your son." He added for good measure.


As Darkness handed Silver the money. She could see he was deeply disturbed. "You okay, hun?" Asked Silver. Darkness just nodded and gripped the steering wheel with both hands tightly. "Yeah... just a bad memory... It'll pass." He said as he fought the urge to scream. Silver just leaned over and hugged him. "It'll pass." She echoed as he wrapped an arm around her side as they sped off into the night.