A Tale of Two Souls

[Shinigami]

A crow flew in the night air and over the quaint small village of Disaria. The village laid at the edge of a forest, away from the bustling and tussling of the city, and held a population of about 30 to 40 people. While Disaria is a peaceful place, many different adventurers move in and out of the village, bringing with them their stories and their problems. The crow perched on the top of the roof of an inn located in the center of the village where one adventurer was sitting at the bar, sipping on his ale. This is where our adventure begins...

The adventurer, a young man whose face was covered with a midnight black hood, sat on his stool as he drank his ale, staring at the bottles behind the counter. His eyes, also as black as his cloak, stared at the bottles but were not really focusing on anything. Instead, it seemed as though the traveler was in a sort of trance. The barkeeper, noticing the adventurer staring at his alcohol supply, approached the young man and cleared his throat, "Excuse me sonny, but is there anything else I can help you with?"

The adventurer took another sip of his ale and said, without looking away from the bottles, "Soon. She will be here soon."

 

[Sayuri Hayashi]

It was the quieter and most serene part of the village, where the wind blows freely, the waters glisten and sync with the sun, and the air so fresh; this was her favorite spot. The wind appeared to be synchronized with the melody being played with a mystical sting instrument by a young woman. She was singing an ever so soft melody that her mother used to lull her to sleep every night until she passed away many years ago. She stopped when she noticed a weird break in the wind, staring off to space for a moment. She shook her then nodded, gathering her belongings and headed to the center of the village.

 

[Shinigami]

"Who is coming, sir?" the barkeeper said to the cloaked man, but the mysterious figure didn't respond. Instead he continued to stare off into the distance. However, as he stared off he could hear voices, as soft as whispers, murmuring inside his head. The whispers were incoherent but they got louder and louder as the seconds went by. And oh, how long each second had felt to the man. For every second of inane whispering that echoed inside the man's eardrums, it felt as if the sun had laid and arisen within that span of time. The whispering grew louder and louder, completely muting the noisy occupants of the inn. And then eventually, when the whispers could no longer get any louder... the man heard a sheering, cold ping followed by a name:

Sayuri...

After a few moments, the man finally looked up at the barkeeper and said, "Either salvation or damnation, my friend. Either way, you'll be long forgotten before then." The cloaked man got up from his chair and began to head out of the inn.

"Excuse me sir, you forgot to pay for your drink," the barkeeper said.

The cloaked man replied, "Put it on my tab," as he walked out the front door. The barkeeper chased after him but once he walked outside the cloaked man had already disappeared.

 

[Sayuri Hayashi]

She wasn't in any rush, nor did she desire to take her sweet time because that voice kept calling out to her. She was starting to question her sanity. For a while now, she's been hearing voices and having premonitions in her sleep. She's always pushed such dreams aside, giving them no meaning or significance whatsoever, only to discover that each and every time she had those dreams, they had unfortunately come true.

What is this? Am I going insane? Is there actually someone out there calling me out? Why do I keep hearing this voice? It doesn't hurt to check and see...

As she followed the voice, the closer she got, the louder the voice called out to her.