Dreams.
Everyone has them. A dream to be better. A dream to see the world clearly. A dream to live in peace. Whether it was a dream in the comfort of sleep, or a dream in the soft thinking of day to day movement--all Bast wanted was the former desire...
Peace.
A notion of finding comfort in simplicity. A moment of... almost nothing. Wouldn't it be nice to rid yourselves of problems, even just for a minute? But there was nothing simple about his life. But he wasn't special either.
DDKKSHH!! THUD!
A weathered bowl slammed into the ground with a crash, as a body fell in tandem. It was a little boy... no older than ten.
"Y-you bastard! you can't even do a simple job!" a figure screamed at the boy. It was a woman--in her mid to late thirties--she was dressed in rags, but had a face you'd stop and stare at, whilst they waited under some dingy street light.
The boy looked at her with strained eyes, as the smell of blood hit his nose in abundance due to the multiple cuts across his body.
"Piece a shit!" the woman screamed, her nose flaring in a rage that the boy had seen countless of times. Her tongue clicked in annoyance, as her gaze beamed down. "I should have taken a pill that day!" she screamed.
All the boy could do was shield his face in an attempt to protect himself from any more physical damage. But no matter what, the real damage came through his two ears.
It continued like that... a hurl of insults and vulgar language as the surroundings seemed to blur.
THUD! DDKKSHH!!
Even as the insults and damage seemed to pour, something in the little boy told him... maybe he deserved it.
Maybe it was his fault they were living in a dingy one floor, little apartment tucked away in an alley.
Maybe it was his fault, and that's why he'd always hear the woman in front of him always seem to scream in the middle of the night--tossing and turning in the other room...
But no matter how many times he tried to follow her formula... it never seemed to work. "Bastard! Listen to me when I'm talking to you!"
DDKKKSSSHH!!
A spark of light shone across Bast's eyelids as they flickered in response, slow, but somewhat quick to wake. They opened to the view of a massive bone structure atop of him. He was still there... still resting in that little ditch tucked right next to a rib.
"...oh."
Raw. Fatigued.
A dull throb rolled through his gut, tightening like a rope being stretched.
Grrrr!!!
He was used to the sound most mornings, today wasn't any different... but it was definitely sharper due to how he slept.
Rays of sunshine shone through the massive monument and its gaps, painting the sandy floor in a golden hue. The night had been replaced by the day...
The first thing he did as soon as he woke up? Bast moved his hands to cover his tired eyes from the heat of the sun.
"...Fucking nightmare," he whispered.
He called it a nightmare, but it felt as real as a memory.
He brought one of his hands down to his abdomen, palm pressing tight like it could help, whilst the other hand dropped to his pocket. The Coin was still there, and as if listening, a screen flashed atop his vision, welcoming him once again to his new life:
------
[Relic Information Updated]
Item: The Beggar's Coin
Type: Memory/Echo Relic
Tier: I I (Woken)
Bonding Stage: F - Awakening (Ember)
Flips: 3/3
Status: Active(Unstable)
-------
The flips had changed back to 3/3. A clear daily change it had previously stated, now an example.
He simply stared, fatigue written clear across his features.
Grrr!!
His stomach twisted again.
"Three flips...? Cool. Do any of them flip me a sandwich?" the words came half-joke, yet half-prayer. "That too much to ask?" he muttered under his breath. He laid there waiting. Nothing answered...
But that was only for a moment. The screen changed:
[Request noted.
A flip may influence outcome.]
"Seriously?" his brows lifted.
Grrr!!
His stomach growled loud enough to answer for him. There shouldn't have been any hesitation.
He sighed, spinning the coin through his fingers with a blank expression.
"If anyone found out I'd be asking for a relic, an item separating those at the top, from the bottom... for a sandwich?" he chuckled, snorting at his own humour. But then he thought back to how time had stopped and sound was erased... something not normal at all.
'There's no way it can actually make me a sandwich though... right?'
There also was a slight part of him worried. Almost warning him not to do it. The cost it took last time... albeit it was technically two costs put together in the heat of the moment, it took a memory. A memory he can't remember at all.
Grrr!!
'Fuck...' he whispered. The pain was getting too much now. Pairing a cold-filled night outdoors with no sustenance to keep him warm... he needed something to eat immediately.
"Screw it," he said, sitting upright.
He'd made his mind up.
[Intent Registered]
The coin casually flicked up from his fingers, floating in the air for what seemed like seconds... but felt longer.
Ding!
That familiar sound rang in the air. A faint ripple -- like light brushing against the edge of his vision -- flickered and faded across the rustic coin's features. It felt like time had slowed. As soon as the Coin fell hitting the sand with a softness unspoken of, everything seemed to move back in motion.
Bast blinked.
There was a brief moment of silence, even under the swaying wind.
What was going on? Because nothing had seemed to change...
"Did... something happen?"
His gaze snapped up to the air as the screen shimmered:
[Flips: 3/3 --> 2/3]
His stomach growled.
"Where's my sandwich?" he looked, confused. His eyes scanned the floor. Was it in the sand? Hidden in the cloths and remains further down?
Nothing.
"Seriously...?" he questioned. A flip had been taken... but the result was nowhere to be seen. For a second, he wanted to scream in anger. The hunger had really began to press on his sanity.
Grrr!!
His stomach seemed to be the most aggravated however. A promise of taste had watered Bast's tongue for the last few minutes... but it was a lie.
He picked the Coin back up, shoving it back into his pocket. "Useless," he muttered under his breath. He slowly got up from the ground, limbs began to motor back.
But right before he could take a step, or even stabilise his balance...
Crunch...
He froze.
It wasn't his.
Crunch...
There it was again.
A second step.
Closer.
Crunch.
Someone was coming.