Reaper of Miria

Origins of the Reaper

The city of Miria was always dark. The sun rarely shined through the smoke of the factories in the city. Only the neon lights that ran along the floor and buildings and the many holograms in the city kept things bright enough to see. Nearly all of the plant and animal life were destroyed in the creation of this city. The streets, buildings, and factories are made of stone and metal. People from many places would gather here looking for work but the city was a gathering place for underground organizations because there was no true governing body in the city. The Guild, the only governing body of Miria, only dealt with giving jobs to people who were looking for one. Those who lived here had to fend for themselves against the criminals and corrupted citizens. People would often post requests to The Guild about killing a specific person. Whether it was a corrupted boss, a criminal, a normal person, anyone could be given a bounty. The bounty was determined by how many people wanted that person to die, how much they would pay, and what deeds that person had done. Some people decided to form groups and take on these requests. Some would even do these requests by themselves. Eventually, these people became known as 'Bounty Hunters'.

Jack was a Natural who was born in Miria. His parents moved here a few years before Jack was born in hopes of getting a good job. His father was able to become a high-ranking worker in the nearby factory and his mother found a high-end job working for The Guild. Both of them were well-known and wealthy but weren't home most of the time. Because of this, Jack was lonely during his childhood. It didn't help that his aberration was something that made him feel more lonely. Every now and then, when he would feel depressed, his aberration would act up. He became like a ghost. Unseen to everyone else and unable to interact with them. This made him more lonely. He would call out and nobody would hear him. He would try and touch someone, get someone's attention, and would be unable to. Jack hated this aberration. He hated the feeling of disconnection between him and everyone else. He kept his power suppressed for as long as he could and was able to keep it from activating randomly. Jack had no trouble getting things he had wanted and dreamed of the time that he would also find a good job and live a comfortable life. This dream ended abruptly one day. It was a rare day because both of Jack's parents were able to be home for the day. These days delighted Jack because he was able to spend time with his parents. Then the gunfire came. 

Jack was in his room when it happened. He was getting his report card to show to his parents how he was doing in school when it started. Glass shattering, gunfire loud in his ears, Jack was scared. He ran back to his parents only to see them on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding them. He saw the ones who were responsible for it. Three men wearing black suits and different colored sunglasses were all holding rifles. All of them saw Jack and immediately fired upon him. Jack ran away immediately, barely dodging the incoming blasts of energy and the barrage of bullets. Jack ended up in his room, backed up against the wall as the three men burst into his room. Unable to fight back, two of the men, one wearing blue sunglasses and the other wearing red sunglasses, lifted Jack into a helpless position. Jack struggled to break free as the third man, who was wearing black sunglasses, aimed his gun at Jack's head, and pulled the trigger.

Fear overtook Jack's mind. Run... Run... Run... Live... Live. Live! The feeling of fear quickly turned into the instinct to live, no matter the cost. Jack's Aberration activated only a second too late as the energized bolt from the third man's gun hit Jack's eye before Jack was able to go into his incorporeal form. "Aaargh" Jack fell to the ground, clutching his injured eye. The three men panicked, looking around trying to find where Jack had gone. Jack got back up, instinct and rage guided his actions. He went back to his normal form, taking the man with black sunglasses by surprise and stealing his gun before returning to his incorporeal form. "What the hell?!" The man exclaimed. Jack swiftly went behind the man before deactivating his aberration and firing the gun at the man's head, killing him. "What the hell is he?!" The man with blue sunglasses exclaimed. "I'm getting the hell out of here!" The man with red sunglasses yelled, running towards the door. Jack fired the gun at the man with red sunglasses, the bolt went through his chest as he fell to the ground. Jack turned to the man with blue sunglasses, blood from his injured eye flowed down his face. His aberration began to flicker on and off as he was slowly losing control of it again. He looked like a ghost, appearing and disappearing every few seconds. "G-Get away from me!" The last man yelled, shooting at Jack. Jack disappeared before the bullet hit him and reappeared right in front of the last man before firing the gun at him, killing him.

I have to get out of here. Jack thought to himself. The pain in Jack's eye came back as he stumbled towards the door out of his house. Jack eventually passed out from the pain, both he and the stolen gun fell to the floor a few feet away from the door.

Jack woke back up almost an hour after, the pain in his eye barely subsiding as he pulled himself to his feet. He smelt the stench of blood and threw up. He thought back to what had just transpired before he passed out. I... did that...? He thought to himself What... have I done...? Jack threw up again from thinking about the three men in his room and the pools of blood under him. Wait... Mom...! Dad! Jack quickly rushed over to where his parents were. When he saw them, he almost fainted. Their blood was slowly drying up and their bodies laid on the floor, cold to the touch. No... Jack fell to the floor and started bursting into tears. Why them... What did they ever do to deserve this... Jack got back up. His feelings of sadness turned into vengeance. I'll kill the ones responsible for this! Jack went back to his room and searched the bodies of the men he killed. He found out they worked for an organization called The Black Thorn. Jack set his sights upon them, vowing to destroy the organization no matter the costs. Jack felt the throbbing of his eye calm down and decided to replace it with a mechanical eye. He left through his front door with a card with a large number of credits and the gun he had stolen from The Black Thorn member.

Jack was able to replace his eye quickly, though not cheaply. He knew the money he had would eventually run out and he had to find a way to get more. The mechanical eye Jack got was advanced compared to the cheaper ones. It could give Jack information through informative holograms only he saw, open an AR overlay that allowed him to use the eye's database or edit the eye's settings, allow him to store what he sees as memory and look at them through the overlay, night vision, a zoom-in, and picture taking function. The only downside was that it shined red while being used. Jack was able to find out about The Guild's bounty system and decided that was how he was going to secure money and information. He found out that the more well-known you are, the more you would be paid from the bounties and allows you to take on more requests. Jack knew that he might be hunted down so he decided to make a different alias for himself. He needed something that would make him stand out and be noticed. Jack remembered a story his mother had told him once. How if you didn't behave, the grim reaper would come and get you. The story was only a myth, and it wasn't true, but Jack felt a strong connection to the reaper. He knew exactly what his alias should be. If the grim reaper doesn't exist, I'll become it. He bought a skull mask, a large, black cloak, dark clothing, and eventually decided on a weapon for himself. Going along with his mask and alias, he decided on a scythe. The scythe Jack bought was grey with lines of neon blue flowing through it. It would fire lasers from the tip of the shaft and the blade had an edge that could cut through most metals. He also knew that his aberration would be pivotal in bounty hunting and trained it, allowing him to be able to control it on command.

With his new clothes and weapon, he went to The Guild and applied to become a bounty hunter under the name Reaper. He then went on to complete various bounties, rising through the ranks quickly. He would get information about The Black Thorn through these bounties and use the money he earned to upgrade his eye or scythe and find more information. His presence soon brought about new stories.

The Reaper of Miria, a dangerous, supernatural bounty hunter who goes after almost any target. It was said that they had one red, glowing eye and could disappear from sight.

Jack soon gathered enough money and decided to leave the city of Miria soon. He gathered information that The Black Thorn had multiple branches in almost every city and decided to find them, and destroy them. He was able to easily deal with the branch in Miria due to his aberration and that the branch in Miria was the weakest. The three men who stormed Jack's house were the highest-ranking members in the Miria branch and their death made the branch exponentially weaker. I will avenge my parents... Just you wait. I'll make sure you never do the same to anyone else!

The Reaper of Miria disappeared from the city, but his name still brings fear to many of the corrupt criminals in the city. Nobody knows when he will return, but they know they don't want to be his next target.