Slightly chilly and yet refreshing, the morning breeze In Hampshire was accompanied by flickering streetlights and the yellow aglow of the rising sun, giving life to the bricked apartments and light to the narrow alleys.
Brett lenhart pulled the zipper of his jacket higher while walking out of his apartment, a two-room space which provided everything but comfort, he really didn't mind after all he believed comfort was overrated and lived with a level of fluidity, enjoying the peculiarities that came with life, the good, bad and Ugly.
He adjusted the strap of his weary messenger bag after closing the door behind him before making his way to his scooter parked by the curb.
Brett was born of simple means, with parents who lived about three towns from him. He also had an older sister who was a nurse who regularly checked up on him leaving calls and messages that he never truly replied to punctually.
Between his coursework in applied research, his job as a delivery man for the Jurah courier company and his late-night editorial shifts at Pearl-style, an adult magazine company with questionable readers, Brett had little to no time, but it was all part of the design of his life unfortunately and he simply saw it that way.
Sitting on the driver's seat, brett's reflection on the side mirror of his scooter showed a blank face, dark curly hair and amber eyes that were neither warm nor cold, a lean and yet capable body.
He was the kind of man that one would say left little to no presence yet is revered as the "shadow mind" of winchester university, his professors never failed to point out how he readily solved problems quietly, quickly, and efficiently without bothering for the applause that came with it.
Starting his scooter, he kicked a few times while the engine sputtered like a man suffering from tuberculosis, before slowly finding its rhythm and soon he was going through the streets that were slowly coming to life courtesy of vendors, students and pedestrians who were emerging from their various homes.
With the delivery slip in hand, he glanced at it noting the package was addressed to a particular hotel in Wickham with the recipient anonymous, this was something he expected from his employers who were quite shady.
Barely half way through his journey, his attention locked onto something unusual across the street to his left.
A woman walked aligning to the shadow of an elm tree with strides that seemed to be in slow motion, they were well calculated, graceful and deliberate,she wore a short red dress that didn't leave a lot to imagination yet wouldn't let any attention caught by it, a chance at escape.
The curves of her body hugged onto the dress highlighting her sensuality, with black boots that complimented her lush auburn hair sealing the deal.
Brett found himself staring, noticing the peculiar flame patterned sigil barely revealed on her left hand while she adjusted her hair.
" Damn " he muttered under his breath peeling his eyes away and back on the road but his thoughts lingered on the woman and his neck craned on its own trying to catch one more glimpse in his side mirror. The woman had stopped beneath the elm tree, and for a split second, he could have sworn she was looking directly at him.
His heart raced at her supposed stare then the horn blast from a car behind him snapped his attention forward. The intersection. Green turned Red and his scooter was still accelerating.blurring past the red sign, his scooter surged forward when a teenage boy suddenly appeared from behind a parked van.
Brett's reflexes kicked in just in time with his hands curling firmly on the handbars, his scooter swerved leaving screeching tires as evidence allowing him to avoid the boy by mere inches, slamming into a nearby bollard as a result.
Metal cracked sharply as the world suddenly turned upside down with the frame of Brett flying across the air, he didn't have time to curse his own carelessness as what followed was a sharp crack and a snap.
Just like that darkness swallowed his consciousness with the last thing he saw being the teenage boy's shocked expression. At least he didn't die he thought even as his consciousness quickly shattered.
Brett's eyes opened or what felt like eyes in this jelly+like state gave him visuals of his present condition which was within a white room that seemed endless in dimensions and constantly stretching.
His attempts to speak felt futile but just on his left he would notice a woman with a physique that felt limitless just like the white room and eyes that housed the constellations giving off a beautiful scenery within them.
"Brett Lenhart" her voice resonated across the entire expanse of the room.
Brett who had fallen into a state of awe didn't respond at all.
" You walked through life like it was a journey with no apparent destination and now your path has led to one that mortals didn't dare take ". she finished with an amusing grin on her face.
Brett who was doing his best not to be choked completely by the mere presence of the woman which left him in a confused state, but amidst this he mustered unseen strength and enough grit to ask .
" Who are... ?". the words emerged as whispers unable to be fully formed.
Her lips curled slightly while she responded
" You may call me the Architect "
And just like that, the white room sparkled with blinding light that swallowed everything up.