Perfect World

Chapter 1: The Mysterious Case of Peter Glass

PREFACE

            There once lived a happy couple whose love was a million generations. She was afraid of everything and he was afraid of being alone, but together their fear vanished and they became brave and strong and made it their duty to change the world. But the boy was cursed, and sometimes he couldn’t help but feel lonely, and on one day three thousand years after their meeting, the girl left in frustration because the boy couldn’t tell her what was wrong. He felt alone, he loved her but he couldn’t help but feel alone, and then when the girl was gone, he truly was alone.

            “I need to find her,” he told himself. “I can’t live without her.”

            And so he set off after his beloved only to discover that she’d been captured by humans who sought to steal her knowledge. He needed to rescue her, he needed his beloved to be safe and sound, but the humans had learned strange Secrets, and these Secrets had the ability to bend reality. And so our couple of a million generations was plunged into a world where they were forgotten, a place where their love was lost, waiting to be found.

CHAPTER 1

The Mysterious Case of Peter Glass

            Pete tipped the tiny vial of powdered crystal over the customer’s drink. It was a poison so deadly that it sent the most powerful war criminals to their death. Of course, the poison was only made of crystals. It was harmless to humans, which could only mean that the type of people it targeted were something else.

            Yes, that’s right, Pete thought. There is such a thing as inhuman humanoids, and I’ll kill every last one them if I have to.

            A minuscule pinch of poison was poured into the glass, just enough so that it’d blend in with the sugar added to the lemonade. Then Pete quickly approached the loneliest corner in Kristo’s Mediterranean Grill before the crystals had a chance to settle in.

            Smiling, he set down the glass in front of the unnaturally impassive customer. “There you are, Sir! What do you think? Did I match your friend’s recipe right?”

            Pete watched in anticipation as the emotionless stranger lifted the straw to his lips. Pete considered making a break for the door, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to see exactly how the powdered poison affected this customer. Would he foam at the mouth until his eyes rolled back? Or maybe this time he’d start seizing until he got a concussion and bled out.

            Pete watched the man intently. There were few witnesses around, the lighting was dim and the restaurant was too fancy for people to be paying attention to anything other than the prices or the fashionably cooked food. Pete was in a pretty good situation, so now all he had to do was wait.

            The man took his first drink, slowly and perfectly composed, and then, as the liquid in the straw lost its suction, he frowned.

            Pete’s heart skipped a beat. Did he notice the tiny crystal shards sinking to the bottom of the glass? Did he sense the other crystals that Pete kept on his person? No, it didn't matter. It was already too late. The man-beast had taken his first drink, and as he sat there, his face gradually waning, the crystal powder flowed down his throat and mixed with the contents of his stomach.

            Pete feigned an expression of concern. “Sir? Sir, are you okay?”

            The glass slipped from his hand, splashing lemonade onto his shirt and further exposing him to the poison. He seemed stiff and defenseless, as if a serial killer was holding a gun to his head and promised to pull the trigger. But of course, the poison must’ve been doing its job. This man was a Kinetic—in no way was he even remotely human—and the alien beast didn’t deserve to breathe, let alone dine at an expensive restaurant. In fact, Pete had made it his duty to overcome the Kinetic invaders one wandering monster at a time. Why? He could say it was for vengeance, but in truth, he enjoyed killing them far too much to stop.