Love of the Betrayed, Beginning of Mystery

The warmth of the Japanese spring was quite different to the harshness of Russia's winter. But luckily her pale skin responded positively to the loving sun. It highlighted her features, adding a touch of a strawberry blush to her normally snow white face. She wore her normal white skirt and black blouse and let her hair hang loosely. Anastasia loved this weather. Hell, Russia'd be lucky to ever be anything more than a distant memory after this internship. The snow white woman walked through the bustling streets staring intently onto her phone. Speaking of her internship, Anastasia completed all her assignments early which meant tonight she could party and celebrate Easter as all godly woman should! At a club trying to get some-

Her stomach grumbled.

Work so hard that you forget to eat breakfast! Her father always told her. Plus, it doesn't help that Japanese culture favored small portions. After spending a year in Texas, coming to eating dinner portions the size of a small bowl of rice was an insult! Well enough was enough! Her best friend spoke about a nearby pizza place. One started by an Italian couple who migrated here not too long ago.

"Ten pizza pies please!" Anastasia said cheerfully. She grabbed a wad of cash and slammed it on the desk. "Five pepperoni, two sausage and three extra cheese.

"Oh! Big party!" The cook shouted happily. "How many plates?"

Yeah, big party alright. The foreign woman smirked. "Whatever you can spare." Ever since childhood, Anastasia possessed the unnatural appetite of a Russian bear. Her father often said that they found her in the forest as a small cub and prayed to make her human. So whenever she craved massive amounts of food, she was really getting ready to hibernate.

Do bears hibernate in the spring? Anastasia pondered. She grabbed her pile of pizza with one hand, much to the surprise of the other restaurant goers, and headed out towards the sunny street. Anastasia grabbed her phone with her free hand and pressed the screen.

Several rings.

"Hello?"

"Hey Aika!" Anastasia said gleefully. The first woman to accept the foreign girl as a friend in this busy city. "I finished all of that assholes work. I'm about to chow down but I was wondering, how about we hit up that new club tonight!?"

"I was just about to call you!" Aika laughed. "Sounds like a plan. Lets get there at midnight and party till the sun comes up."

"Don't you work tomorrow, Ma'am?"

"Hey, whatever goes on before and after the hours of 9AM and 5PM is my business and mine alone!" Aika joked. "What're you wearing?"

"I got this new dress I've been meaning to show off. Surely to catch some attention. Guys here aren't use to seeing girls with shapes."

"Oh shut up fatty." Aika retorted. "Sounds like a plan. See you later."

Click.

Anastasia stopped to put her phone away. A bright light caught her attention, almost blinding her for a second. She turned to see a golden cross in the midst of the sun's divine rays. But there was something else...Her eyes lowered as she attempted to make clear the sight of a figure, obscured by the shadows of the gigantic cross. A man with clothe blowing behind him in the wind. She squinted harder. Blink. And the enigmatic being disappeared. ''Maybe I'm just seeing things. Mom always said that ghost tend to hang around churches before heading home.''

"If I ask for forgiveness now." She closed her eyes and offered a light prayer. "Maybe, I won't feel bad for whatever I do tonight when I wake up tomorrow." She chuckled before heading towards her home.

Those ten pizzas lasted no more than five minutes.

He is Always With You
The club scene in Japan was way different from that of Russia and the States. Japanese people knew how to party using themes and gimmicks, which party goers would then twist into raunchy nightlife and sexual innuendos. Tonight was Easter. Bunny ears. Bunny tails. Baskets filled with drug infused chocolates littered the dance floor. Flashing lights. Loud music. She danced the night away against quite a few attractive models. "Why don't you try to find the egg in my hole?" She whispered. Her white bunny ears and bunny tail, matching her skin hugging white dress, tickled his nose. She kissed his cheek and walked off before he could answer. Her thirst could kill an elephant.

Anastasia sat at the bar and ordered the strongest drink on the menu. Russian's were known for their strong alcohol tolerance. But Anastasia's resistance was on a whole different level. In the corner of her eye, she noticed a man in a red robe covering a priest outfit. His white hair reminiscent of the snow she played in as a child.

"Don't I know you?" She asked. "You feel familiar."

"Maybe we've crossed paths before." He responded lovingly.

"Oh. My name's Anastasia."

"Solomon. A pleasure."

"What's your costume? Some kind of priest?" She swallowed the entirety of her drink in a single swig. "I love the idea!"

"Thank you." He responded warmly. "But I'm afraid it isn't a costume."

"Oh, so even priest are allowed go out on Easter?! Shocking!" She joked. "Aren't holy days sacred?"

"They are. Except Easter isn't a holy day. It's a holiday celebrated by Pagans who worship bunnies!" He laughed. "Heretics who bow to the rabbit, the blasphemous symbol of fertility. A method to infiltrate the sacredness of His love and taint it."

"But doesn't the church sanction the celebration of Easter as a representation of Passover?" She responded, using her higher learning to her advantage.

"The church isn't the word of God. In this world, there are powers at work. Illusions of control and understanding. The twisting of history to mask identities and the placing of rulers meant to divert attention from the ." He sipped his drink. "In the oldest books, the name of the holiday is Pascha. A word which reminisces the untouched name of the Hebrew celebration, Passover. Yet here we are, celebrating Easter...named after the goddess Ēostre. The physical world is nothing more than an illusion, a weapon for the minority to control the majority. It is only through devoted love to his grace that one can see the truth's hidden among the lies."

"Oh...well..." Anastasia stumbled. This guy was probably having a rough day with all these lies and truths and whatnot. "Do you wanna dance?"

"Not here, our dance will be elsewhere. Please enjoy your night as it might be your last." His words were strange but honest. As a father ensuring his daughter that everything will be okay.

He spoke with such confidence, Anastasia's heart jumped several beats. "I'm going to go now!" She quickly leapt onto the dance floor to find cover from the creep. But no matter how far she ventured from the bar, Anastasia felt his heavy eyes pressing upon her shoulders. The young girl searched for her friend, turning around strangers who looked like her from behind. It wasn't until she checked the bathroom that she heard the lust filled screams of Aika. Of course. Anastasia was being hit on by some pervert while Aika got her guts scrambled. What a night!

Maybe some fresh air would help... Anastasia stood outside the club with a cigarette in her hand. The loud music was masked by her thoughts. She tried to text Aika.

"Come outside when you're finished."

"I need your help. We need to get out of here"

She sighed. No responses. Maybe this was a sign for her to go home. The night was getting late and she could use her free time to get a head start on the reports for the next quarters

"I take it you've enjoyed your night." His voice erupted from the shadows as he melted into the light of the moon. His silver hair sparkling in its brilliance. "Come, let us complete the ritual before time runs out."

"Ritual? Listen, I don't know who you are but you don't wanna fuck with me." Anastasia barked. "I'm stronger than you think."

"The strength of the Father courses through all of us. And for that I ask that you come willingly for he needs our help. Haven't you noticed the spirits lingering about the churches recently." His hands reached into the leather bag hanging at his left side. He pulled out a black book, one which she was familiar with. A bible.

"H-how do you kn-"

"There's a lot about you that I know, Anastasia. We're similar in a lot of ways. Mainly in that we both possess connections to the Lord."

"That's it!" She vanished. Her body shimmering into a flash of speed impossible for some mere human to replicate. Anastasia sent a devastating kick to the weirdo's chest, attempting to end it in one swift strike. "I've fought monsters three time's your size. You don't want to fuck with me."

Green light erupted from her leg. She squinted through the flash of lime and saw his hand clutching her legs. Anastasia screamed as he squeezed it. She could feel her bones bending beneath the insane power of his grip. Who was he? She's fought demons and her father's enemies who were houses compared to this scrawny brat. And this weird power?

""He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.-Isaiah 40:29" His milky voice calming. Anastasia felt her body soar as he tossed her high into the air. Before she could catch her momentum to prepare for landing, the crimson robed man floated above her. Where he launched a devastating kick into her stomach. Slamming her into the roof below. He stood over her body in the crater and pressed harder. Bones cracking as she spat out blood.

"G-get off me you fucking.." She growled. Struggling hard against the leg which felt as if it weighed more than several tons.

"He gives powers to the weak and strength to the powerless." He repeated. "His love knows no bounds. Yet we've betrayed him and killed his son." Tears streamed off his face, dropping upon Anastasia. "You have no knowledge of the piece you play in this holy war. But alas, you're crucial in the freeing of our father. Please, sister...for the sake of he one who died for our sins. I beg you. Stop fighting and give me it."

"I-I don't know what the fuck you're talking about." She spat. Her hands touched the building. The roof seemed to collapse beneath the both of them. The once concrete ceiling transformed into fine sand. With this chance, she leapt out of a nearby window and darted off.

Haven't you noticed the spirits wandering about the churches...

Those words haunted her as she launched herself from building to building. She was always able to see them. Ghost and spirits wandering about. Lingering. Unable to move onwards to the next stage. But Anastasia made sure to stay focus upon the physical world. Even when bothered by those, she'd knock them around when no one was watching and return to her life...attempting to be as normal as possible.

A thunderous roar followed by a explosive collision with the earth between two buildings. The clouds passing from the move revealed a gnarling chimeric beast. One whose teeth almost pierced her neck.

"And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's"

- Revelation 13:2

His voice echoed as he landed at the entrance. Anastasia turned to see the robbed man approaching her. She tried to move but the horrific beast roared, slapping her with its massive paws. She could feel blood pooling from her head as a headache emerged. Am I going to die tonight? She asked.

"Don't move. The creatures of the Lord are only controllable to he who serves their father." He stroked the leopard's fur lovingly as he leaned over Anastasia. "Where is it?"

Anastasia's vision refocused. "I-I don't know what you're talking about..." She managed. "I'm just a girl who can see dead people."

"You're a child of the Father. But you've been given a piece of the Son. And I need this piece to save him. So please, tell me where it is." Solomon gently caressed her cheek.

"A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish."

- Proverbs 19:9

"Where is it?" Green light radiated from his hands and slithered into Anastasia's heart. "Answer truthfully for the getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death."

"I don't know!" She bellowed. "I don't know anything about whatever you're saying. I just wanna go home. Please...I don't know what you're talking about...I don't know how to help you!" Anastasia felt tears fall from her eyes. The burning sensation of helplessness. Was she going to die? A nameless woman hunted down by some weird cultist with weirder abilities. Would her story end here?!

"Hm." Solomon's face twisted into one of intrigue. "Seems you're being honest." He snapped his fingers and the mysterious beast vanished. His ebony hands slipped beneath the top of her dress and slowly felt down her body. Anastasia could feel the residual power from Solomon's being burning into her skin. She groaned. He stopped once he reached her stomach. "Seems like it was here all along." His hands glowed emerald. It burned! Something was coming out of her stomach and it felt like a piece of metal. As if a gigantic furnace had been ignited within.

An explosion. Anastasia watched as Solomon's body was hurled into a nearby wall. He stood up and dusted his clothing. "Should've expected them to place a trap. An ignition of such Spiritual Power would surely attract some unwanted attention." Solomon approached Anastasia. "Sister, I'll return to complete our task. For now, you're free to rest and regain your strength. You'll need it for the next part of the ritual."