The Third Convergence Day

Istanbul

Istanbul, Turkey

December 31st, 2053

8:40 PM

Eren stood motionlessly, his eyes affixed to the painted mural that hung from the ceiling. Tears welled in his bloodshot eyes as he muttered words of prayer to himself. The mural had been made by a fellow brother of his faith. It was intricately designed, made with the finest silks one could buy, and it depicted the founding moments of their faith. His eyes fell upon the focus of the piece, there in the center, draped in purple cloths, with a crown of vines atop his metallic head, which glimmered brilliantly from the light of his golden nimbus, was Totalus. Eren smiled as he looked at his savior's depiction, marveled at how detailed the treacherous serpent that wrapped around his arm was, how realistic the blood that seeped from the neck of the fallen destroyer, whose name he could not even speak aloud, who laid at the savior's feet was. The image brought him a sense of hope, especially in these dire times.

He could hear it now, the screaming outside, the rushing of feet and the honking of car horns, right outside his church. It appeared another event had started, as he and his brothers had predicted. Another culling of non-believers, it was a necessary undertaking, one that some followers of the faith had taken into their own hands since the savior's sacrifice. From the shores of Japan to the mountains of Chile, those who recognized the savior's message to punish those full of sin for their crimes. Eren did not condone the actions of these followers, they were blinded by their love of the messiah that they lost sight of their place in the world. It was not the place of man to decide who is destined to be culled, only he, and his loyal disciples, were worthy of such a purpose. That is how he overcame the great destroyer those 20 long years ago, it is how his follower, the blade from beyond, had overcome that vile beast that destroyed without cause or purpose. Through their divinity and devotion to the almighty did the two saviors prevail. He lifted and pressed the shard to his lips, with luck he would see the chosen divine today, perhaps see it claim victory over whatever great evil had been sent to prevent its culling.

"Do you truly believe that?" A raspy voice whispered into Eren's ear, causing him to jump and audibly gasp. He turned on his heels, to see who had invaded this holy place... and saw no one. Eren's eyes scanned the room, but there was nothing to see. He muttered a prayer under his breath.

"Holy sword and shield of the on high, do not let these shadows deceive me, bathe me in the light of your truth and-" he was cut off by a deep, boastful chuckle that seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"Your prayers fall upon deaf ears little one," it spoke with venom in its words, "There is only one god to pray to now." a thunderous boom shook the earth below Eren's feet, pitching him forward onto his hands and knees. The voice laughed at the meek display as Eren stumbled to his feet, only for another tremor to throw him back to the floor. As he feet, his forehead smacked against the corner of one of the church's wooden pews, splitting his forehead open and making his world go black.

His head ached and he let out a groan of pain as he awoke moments later. His ears were immediately assaulted by the voice's low pitched hysterical laughter. Eren rolled over onto his hands and knees and looked towards the mural. The voice mocked him as he walked towards it, taking the shard in his hand.

"Is it supposed to save you little one? Your kind is as foolish as you are pathetic." The thunderous booms shook the earth again and again, throwing golden idols of Totalus to the floor with a metallic clang as Eren reached the altar in the center of the church. He held onto it for support as the thunderous booms reached a maddening crescendo. The voice spoke into the priest's ear.

"Let me show you the power of your messiah." It hissed. Suddenly, a new sound scraped on Eren's ear drums, the sound of something sharp scraping against metal and wood, coming from directly above him. Eren looked up, wide eyed, as four long, curled claws pierced the roof of the Church and tore it away, like ripping the lid off a tupperware. Eren watched as the ceiling was torn away, revealing the beast that had been tormenting him so viscously. There, towering above the church, was a horrific being. Its skin was black as charcoal and rough like a tanned hide. Its body was large and powerful, like that of a kangaroo, but with longer, more muscular arms, and a shorter, more broad head. A head which possessed no face, just a pair of large, glowing white eyes. Eren's breath caught in his throat as his eyes fell upon the creature's mouth.

Where the creature's stomach should have been was instead a massive set of jaws, with large, gnawing teeth. With a casual flick of the creature's wrist, it tossed the crushed remnants of wood and metal that once made up the church's roof into its horrific maw. Eren's legs gave out beneath him as he watched the creature's three eyes fall upon him. He let out a gasp and backed away from the creature with his hands as the voice spoke again.

"What's wrong father? No prayers to give?" The beast's stomach gnawed on the metal of the roof as the creature's voice began to laugh once again, one of its long, clawed hands reaching downwards, and towards him.

Eren couldn't think, he couldn't move, he simply screamed as he watched the creature's claws descend upon him and then.

Crack.

The metal fist collided with the side of the creature's featureless face with the force of a wrecking ball. Knocking the creature off its feet and out of Eren's line of sight. Eren sat dumb struck as he watched a new creature rise and take the beast's place. This creature was smaller than the beast, and much easier on the eyes. It looked like old illustrations of dinosaurs, the ones he had seen and obsessed over in his youth. But unlike those dinosaurs, this creature had a distinct feature. The new monster snarled at the beast, and as it did, it lifted its arms, revealing a large, mechanical limb, which was lined with glowing green panels. Eren's heart skipped a beat as he watched the creature, his mind connected the dots as he excitedly got to his feet. He yelled and chanted excitedly as he looked up at the cybernetic beast. It was real, it was truly real, the next savior, the next disciple of Totalus stood before him. He leaped and cheered like a giddy child, and for the briefest moment, the creature's eye rolled in its socket, and looked down upon him. Now Totalus work will be done!

"Silence!" the voice roared, and the last thing Eren saw was the sky being lit ablaze.