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Description
Divinity Soul

James "Copywright" Joseph

Chapter 3

As Neariah and Zach walked inside, Zach couldn't help but give a surprised gasp. Unlike the outside area, the inside of the penthouse was absolutely beautiful and furnished with all the newest state of the art electronics. He couldn't help but to think that this would've been the dream home for some techno maniac.
Following behind Neariah, Zach saw that almost everything in the house consisted of electronics. Neariah wasn't exactly what someone would call super rich. This forced him to pose his most curious question. "How and where did you guys get all this stuff!?"
Neariah grinned almost like a cat before replying, "You'll find out soon enough, bro."
Once they came to the end of the hall and turned left into the living room, Zach saw three other people there whom he'd never before seen in his life. Whoever these people were though, Neariah must have some reason to hold them in enough respect to have them there.
One of these was a man sitting at the table and working on his laptop. He seemed to be around the same age as Neariah and was also dark-skinned. He had neat cornrows and a short, trimmed beard but a mean face and at that particular time he was also busy glaring daggers at his laptop. Zach immediately decided that this was someone he would do his best not to cross.
Another was a woman on a treadmill. She was visibly fit and clearly seemed to enjoy exercise and sports. Her long, sleek brown hair barely hid a light, swirled scar on her cheek as she continued to work out. She looked almost more colorful in her clothing choice of a bright, pink crop top and tight, black pants and golden headband than the man did in his orange jacket and pants.
Zach's gaze drifted over to the last person in the room, a girl looking about the same age as he was. Currently she was busy doing acrobatics. She seemed to bear a resemblance to the woman on the treadmill. They had the same light skin and some identical facial features. Her long hair was dyed a bright shade of blue and she was possibly wearing the most colorful outfit of all. Wearing a yellow and purple supported sports top and a pair of yellow shorts with purple legwarmers she looked positively colorful.
Neariah walked to the center of the room and gave a gentle cough to catch everyone's attention before speaking. "This is my brother, Zach. I thought you guys might like to meet him."
Everyone stopped immediately with what they were doing and came forward to inspect the newcomer in their midst.
The guy who had been sitting at the table gave Zach a curt nod in greeting. "The name's Benji Bidayah," he said with a warning smile before continuing, "I hope you know though, I'm not here to be your friend."
The woman who was on the treadmill gave Zach an apologetic look. "Oh don't mind him, that's just how he is really. And aren't you just such a cute little boy? My name's Debra Cottingham." She gave Zach a smile and a hug before pointing over to the young girl standing a small distance behind her. "That's my little sister, Sarah. I'm sure she'll like the company."
Zach blushed a deep scarlet and smiled sheepishly at her words while looking at the younger girl. "Hi," he said.
The girl stood quietly for a while, looking thoroughly embarrassed as well. After long while of silence she smiled a little bit and said, "Hello. My name is Sarah Cottingham. Nice to meet you."
"You too," Zach replied before looking back at his own sister.
Neariah nodded to him and turned her attention to the others again. "We need a conference guys, I need to tell you what happened to Zach today," Neariah said. There was a subtle hint of grief in her voice.
At her words, everyone in the room seemed to become serious again and their expressions intensified. As one, they walked to the elevator and filed in. Neariah pressed a button and the elevator began to rise. As the elevator rose to their destination, Zach couldn't help but feel antsy as he felt the drop of the elevator in his stomach as it came to a stop.
As the elevator dinged and the doors opened, Zach looked in amazement at what looked like a proper boardroom. A relatively long, polished table stood in the center of the room with matching chairs around it. In the center of the table was a large double sided screen projector.
Zach quickly followed suit as everyone chose a seat and sat down. Neariah sat down at the head of the table and placed her elbows on the table to rest her chin upon her folded hands.
"Zach has encountered one of the Deceiver's prayers to their god today. He has seen the truth and the Highest One has recognized and judged him as a worthy bearer of power. Zach, can you please show us what I mean?" Neariah said as she turned her attention to Zach.
Zach gulped and looked at her uncertainly, not sure if he had heard correctly. He could still recall the blow of power that had killed that priest and he had no wish to relive it again so soon but he gave in as everyone's gaze fell to him.
"Um, alright. I'll try..." he said uncertainly. Zach didn't know where he should've been aiming, and so, aimed up at the metallic ceiling. He used the same method he had earlier in the church. Once the blast was released, he felt much more drained than he did earlier and his headache immediately returned.
Everyone in the room ducked as the blast ricocheted off the ceiling and around the room before coming to its end against a vase. The sound of glass shattering sounded deafening in the room.
Zach stared in mild horror at the shards scattered on the floor, before looking sheepishly at the others. "Err... Oops?"
Benji didn't look even look somewhat as impressed as the others and gave Zach a look that bespoke a case of pure hopelessness. "Nice going, hotshot," he commented sarcastically.
"Oh shh, Benji! I think... it was pretty impressive for someone with newborn powers," Sarah said while crossing her arms and giving Benji a dark look that didn't seem to fit with her nature at all.
Debra gave a grin and patted Zach on the back. "I'd expect nothing less from the brother of Neariah Strife!"
Neariah gave a small smile at that and turned her attention to everyone in the room, one by one. "Guys, we need to get him through some intensive training sessions, starting as from tomorrow morning. I think he's been through enough for one day." Neariah turned her gaze to Benji before she continued, "Benji, please prepare a training course that can be used tomorrow. You will also be his sparring partner, alright?"
Benji nodded, looking only barely interested. "Alright, whatever you say Neariah."
Neariah tried not to roll her eyes and turned to look at Debra instead. "Debra, I need you to let Zach in on all the most important basics of being an Avenger."
"Righto, Captain!" Debra said, giving a playful salutation to Neariah.
"As for me, I will have to report to Avenger Head Quarters and let them know of this. Zach, you must be tired. Your room is down the hall from earlier and to your left. It's right next to Sarah's room, the one with the purple and yellow flower on the door. I'll be there soon to talk to you, go on ahead. Everyone else, stay." Neariah spoke all of this with such command in her voice that no one seemed to question her at all.
Zach nodded slowly and got up out of his chair and headed to the elevator. Once the doors opened and he got in, Neariah shouted to him the floor number and he pushed the button. As the doors closed and the elevator began to go down to the lower floor, Zach couldn't help feeling like an outsider. His life was changing, faster than he could have ever thought possible. One moment he had been a normal teenage boy and the next he was granted these mystical powers that he knew nothing about as well as joined a group called the Avengers.
'Why had Neariah never told me about this?' he thought sullenly. Before he could continue to dwell even deeper into his thoughts, the elevator dinged again as the doors slid open.
Zach sighed and walked over to the room his sister said was his. Indeed it was right next to a room with a closed door that had a bright purple and yellow flower on it. Seeing it made him smile a little as he pushed open the door to his own room.
His room had a plain interior, there was a single bed with blue covers and pillows, and the carpet was also a light blue color. A pair of pale blue curtains hung open by the windows while a gentle warmth streamed in from the open windows.
Zach smiled while looking around. Even though it seemed plain, it was perfect to him. Lying down on the bed, Zach gave a wearied sigh and closed his eyes. What was his life turning into? Where would he live? What would he do? What about his family? Could he handle all of this? It just all seemed too much to him.

Back up in the boardroom Neariah also sighed and drummed her fingers on the polished table. "We could do with his help guys. Once he has trained enough, he could really be a valuable ally and I'm not saying this because he is my brother, Benji, so don't look at me like that."
Sarah looked down at the floor and closed her eyes to sense Zach's emotions. "Neariah, you may want to go down to him. I'm sure he could use some comfort. He's been through a lot as you say, and his emotions seem to be in turmoil," Sarah said when she opened her sparkling, green eyes again.
"Thank you, Sarah. Well I'll be going then everyone. Please think about what I've said," Neariah said as she got up and walked to the elevator. Once the doors closed and the elevator began to descend, Neariah's mind was filled with Zach's thoughts and emotions. Sarah had definitely been right about his turmoil.
Once the elevator doors opened again, Neariah swiftly got out and walked to Zach's door. Out of common decency she gave three quick raps on the door, before pushing it open and walking inside.
Zach lifted his head a little to look at the intruder, but seeing that it was only his sister, he relaxed again.
Neariah settled herself down on the edge of his bed and looked him over carefully. "Zach, I know what you're thinking," and seeing his confused look, she continued while playing with curl from her afro, "Partly because it's part of my labyrhytm. But the point is that I know that the transition from living in ignorance to living in the truth hasn't been easy for any of us. As long as we know what we do though, we can't just return to our normal lives like nothing changed." Neariah sighed softly, being careful about what words she'd use next. "For example, do you really think you'd ever easily set foot again in a church without being unsure or scared?" she asked.
Zach shivered at the mention of churches and the lingering warning that the events of that day could repeat themselves. "No, never. I...I don't think I'll ever be very comfortable in them again." he replied.
"Do you want to save others from what happened to you today?" Neariah asked while studying his expression.
"Yeah..." Zach replied softly and took a deep breath to steady himself. "I do sis, I really do. But all of this is just too sudden for me. I'm still just a kid! I play outside and get girlfriends and go chill at the movies. And now all of the sudden I have to believe that I'm some kind of avenging person, totally out of nowhere."
Neariah sighed and rubbed her face with her hands before looking back at Zach again and getting up from the bed. "Look Zach, if you really want to go back, I'm not going to stop you. If you decide to stay, then that attitude has got to go. The Deceivers love a mentally weak enemy that they can easily pick apart. So if you choose to cling to living in ignorance, don't expect to see me again. It's still your choice." With her final words, Neariah turned and left the room.
Zach gasped as his heart stung from fear and sadness. Looking at the way Neariah had left his room, he was sure she was serious about what she said. Zach could feel his head starting to throb much worse than before and the tension settling in his shoulders. Fighting the urge not to let his tears flow again, Zach paused in mid-struggle as he heard the door creak open again. Hoping it was his sister coming to apologize or tell him she changed her mind, he looked up eagerly.
A pair of green eyes framed by bright blue hair looked back at him. Sarah smiled gently at him. "May I come in, Zach?"
"Um, sure, Sarah. Have a seat," Zach said while motioning to a chair near the bed.
Sarah walked in slowly and sat down on the chair, folding her hands into her lap. "I think you should stay. You won't be happy if you go back. The trauma of what you went through will last until your death. Running away from it won't help, Zach. Trust me, I should know," Sarah explained and Zach couldn't help but notice the sad tone in her voice.
Zach thought about what she said for a moment and noticed that it seemed to make sense. Running had never accomplished anything for anybody. "Thank... Thank you, Sarah. Thank you for talking to me," Zach said and hugged her out of thankfulness.
Sarah blushed bright red and smiled a little uncomfortably. "Err, no problem, Zach. You should get some rest now, so I'll just go. Goodnight, Zach." Sarah quickly made her way out of his room again and firmly shut the door behind her.
Zach yawned, realizing just how tired he was feeling but feeling much more content in his mind and heart. Even though he would miss his family, he felt like this might be the only place where he'd feel like he belongs.
"There's no turning back now, then," Zach said softly as his eyes closed and he drifted off into a deep slumber.

Description
Divinity Soul

James "Copywright" Joseph

Chapter 3

As Neariah and Zach walked inside, Zach couldn't help but give a surprised gasp. Unlike the outside area, the inside of the penthouse was absolutely beautiful and furnished with all the newest state of the art electronics. He couldn't help but to think that this would've been the dream home for some techno maniac.
Following behind Neariah, Zach saw that almost everything in the house consisted of electronics. Neariah wasn't exactly what someone would call super rich. This forced him to pose his most curious question. "How and where did you guys get all this stuff!?"
Neariah grinned almost like a cat before replying, "You'll find out soon enough, bro."
Once they came to the end of the hall and turned left into the living room, Zach saw three other people there whom he'd never before seen in his life. Whoever these people were though, Neariah must have some reason to hold them in enough respect to have them there.
One of these was a man sitting at the table and working on his laptop. He seemed to be around the same age as Neariah and was also dark-skinned. He had neat cornrows and a short, trimmed beard but a mean face and at that particular time he was also busy glaring daggers at his laptop. Zach immediately decided that this was someone he would do his best not to cross.
Another was a woman on a treadmill. She was visibly fit and clearly seemed to enjoy exercise and sports. Her long, sleek brown hair barely hid a light, swirled scar on her cheek as she continued to work out. She looked almost more colorful in her clothing choice of a bright, pink crop top and tight, black pants and golden headband than the man did in his orange jacket and pants.
Zach's gaze drifted over to the last person in the room, a girl looking about the same age as he was. Currently she was busy doing acrobatics. She seemed to bear a resemblance to the woman on the treadmill. They had the same light skin and some identical facial features. Her long hair was dyed a bright shade of blue and she was possibly wearing the most colorful outfit of all. Wearing a yellow and purple supported sports top and a pair of yellow shorts with purple legwarmers she looked positively colorful.
Neariah walked to the center of the room and gave a gentle cough to catch everyone's attention before speaking. "This is my brother, Zach. I thought you guys might like to meet him."
Everyone stopped immediately with what they were doing and came forward to inspect the newcomer in their midst.
The guy who had been sitting at the table gave Zach a curt nod in greeting. "The name's Benji Bidayah," he said with a warning smile before continuing, "I hope you know though, I'm not here to be your friend."
The woman who was on the treadmill gave Zach an apologetic look. "Oh don't mind him, that's just how he is really. And aren't you just such a cute little boy? My name's Debra Cottingham." She gave Zach a smile and a hug before pointing over to the young girl standing a small distance behind her. "That's my little sister, Sarah. I'm sure she'll like the company."
Zach blushed a deep scarlet and smiled sheepishly at her words while looking at the younger girl. "Hi," he said.
The girl stood quietly for a while, looking thoroughly embarrassed as well. After long while of silence she smiled a little bit and said, "Hello. My name is Sarah Cottingham. Nice to meet you."
"You too," Zach replied before looking back at his own sister.
Neariah nodded to him and turned her attention to the others again. "We need a conference guys, I need to tell you what happened to Zach today," Neariah said. There was a subtle hint of grief in her voice.
At her words, everyone in the room seemed to become serious again and their expressions intensified. As one, they walked to the elevator and filed in. Neariah pressed a button and the elevator began to rise. As the elevator rose to their destination, Zach couldn't help but feel antsy as he felt the drop of the elevator in his stomach as it came to a stop.
As the elevator dinged and the doors opened, Zach looked in amazement at what looked like a proper boardroom. A relatively long, polished table stood in the center of the room with matching chairs around it. In the center of the table was a large double sided screen projector.
Zach quickly followed suit as everyone chose a seat and sat down. Neariah sat down at the head of the table and placed her elbows on the table to rest her chin upon her folded hands.
"Zach has encountered one of the Deceiver's prayers to their god today. He has seen the truth and the Highest One has recognized and judged him as a worthy bearer of power. Zach, can you please show us what I mean?" Neariah said as she turned her attention to Zach.
Zach gulped and looked at her uncertainly, not sure if he had heard correctly. He could still recall the blow of power that had killed that priest and he had no wish to relive it again so soon but he gave in as everyone's gaze fell to him.
"Um, alright. I'll try..." he said uncertainly. Zach didn't know where he should've been aiming, and so, aimed up at the metallic ceiling. He used the same method he had earlier in the church. Once the blast was released, he felt much more drained than he did earlier and his headache immediately returned.
Everyone in the room ducked as the blast ricocheted off the ceiling and around the room before coming to its end against a vase. The sound of glass shattering sounded deafening in the room.
Zach stared in mild horror at the shards scattered on the floor, before looking sheepishly at the others. "Err... Oops?"
Benji didn't look even look somewhat as impressed as the others and gave Zach a look that bespoke a case of pure hopelessness. "Nice going, hotshot," he commented sarcastically.
"Oh shh, Benji! I think... it was pretty impressive for someone with newborn powers," Sarah said while crossing her arms and giving Benji a dark look that didn't seem to fit with her nature at all.
Debra gave a grin and patted Zach on the back. "I'd expect nothing less from the brother of Neariah Strife!"
Neariah gave a small smile at that and turned her attention to everyone in the room, one by one. "Guys, we need to get him through some intensive training sessions, starting as from tomorrow morning. I think he's been through enough for one day." Neariah turned her gaze to Benji before she continued, "Benji, please prepare a training course that can be used tomorrow. You will also be his sparring partner, alright?"
Benji nodded, looking only barely interested. "Alright, whatever you say Neariah."
Neariah tried not to roll her eyes and turned to look at Debra instead. "Debra, I need you to let Zach in on all the most important basics of being an Avenger."
"Righto, Captain!" Debra said, giving a playful salutation to Neariah.
"As for me, I will have to report to Avenger Head Quarters and let them know of this. Zach, you must be tired. Your room is down the hall from earlier and to your left. It's right next to Sarah's room, the one with the purple and yellow flower on the door. I'll be there soon to talk to you, go on ahead. Everyone else, stay." Neariah spoke all of this with such command in her voice that no one seemed to question her at all.
Zach nodded slowly and got up out of his chair and headed to the elevator. Once the doors opened and he got in, Neariah shouted to him the floor number and he pushed the button. As the doors closed and the elevator began to go down to the lower floor, Zach couldn't help feeling like an outsider. His life was changing, faster than he could have ever thought possible. One moment he had been a normal teenage boy and the next he was granted these mystical powers that he knew nothing about as well as joined a group called the Avengers.
'Why had Neariah never told me about this?' he thought sullenly. Before he could continue to dwell even deeper into his thoughts, the elevator dinged again as the doors slid open.
Zach sighed and walked over to the room his sister said was his. Indeed it was right next to a room with a closed door that had a bright purple and yellow flower on it. Seeing it made him smile a little as he pushed open the door to his own room.
His room had a plain interior, there was a single bed with blue covers and pillows, and the carpet was also a light blue color. A pair of pale blue curtains hung open by the windows while a gentle warmth streamed in from the open windows.
Zach smiled while looking around. Even though it seemed plain, it was perfect to him. Lying down on the bed, Zach gave a wearied sigh and closed his eyes. What was his life turning into? Where would he live? What would he do? What about his family? Could he handle all of this? It just all seemed too much to him.

Back up in the boardroom Neariah also sighed and drummed her fingers on the polished table. "We could do with his help guys. Once he has trained enough, he could really be a valuable ally and I'm not saying this because he is my brother, Benji, so don't look at me like that."
Sarah looked down at the floor and closed her eyes to sense Zach's emotions. "Neariah, you may want to go down to him. I'm sure he could use some comfort. He's been through a lot as you say, and his emotions seem to be in turmoil," Sarah said when she opened her sparkling, green eyes again.
"Thank you, Sarah. Well I'll be going then everyone. Please think about what I've said," Neariah said as she got up and walked to the elevator. Once the doors closed and the elevator began to descend, Neariah's mind was filled with Zach's thoughts and emotions. Sarah had definitely been right about his turmoil.
Once the elevator doors opened again, Neariah swiftly got out and walked to Zach's door. Out of common decency she gave three quick raps on the door, before pushing it open and walking inside.
Zach lifted his head a little to look at the intruder, but seeing that it was only his sister, he relaxed again.
Neariah settled herself down on the edge of his bed and looked him over carefully. "Zach, I know what you're thinking," and seeing his confused look, she continued while playing with curl from her afro, "Partly because it's part of my labyrhytm. But the point is that I know that the transition from living in ignorance to living in the truth hasn't been easy for any of us. As long as we know what we do though, we can't just return to our normal lives like nothing changed." Neariah sighed softly, being careful about what words she'd use next. "For example, do you really think you'd ever easily set foot again in a church without being unsure or scared?" she asked.
Zach shivered at the mention of churches and the lingering warning that the events of that day could repeat themselves. "No, never. I...I don't think I'll ever be very comfortable in them again." he replied.
"Do you want to save others from what happened to you today?" Neariah asked while studying his expression.
"Yeah..." Zach replied softly and took a deep breath to steady himself. "I do sis, I really do. But all of this is just too sudden for me. I'm still just a kid! I play outside and get girlfriends and go chill at the movies. And now all of the sudden I have to believe that I'm some kind of avenging person, totally out of nowhere."
Neariah sighed and rubbed her face with her hands before looking back at Zach again and getting up from the bed. "Look Zach, if you really want to go back, I'm not going to stop you. If you decide to stay, then that attitude has got to go. The Deceivers love a mentally weak enemy that they can easily pick apart. So if you choose to cling to living in ignorance, don't expect to see me again. It's still your choice." With her final words, Neariah turned and left the room.
Zach gasped as his heart stung from fear and sadness. Looking at the way Neariah had left his room, he was sure she was serious about what she said. Zach could feel his head starting to throb much worse than before and the tension settling in his shoulders. Fighting the urge not to let his tears flow again, Zach paused in mid-struggle as he heard the door creak open again. Hoping it was his sister coming to apologize or tell him she changed her mind, he looked up eagerly.
A pair of green eyes framed by bright blue hair looked back at him. Sarah smiled gently at him. "May I come in, Zach?"
"Um, sure, Sarah. Have a seat," Zach said while motioning to a chair near the bed.
Sarah walked in slowly and sat down on the chair, folding her hands into her lap. "I think you should stay. You won't be happy if you go back. The trauma of what you went through will last until your death. Running away from it won't help, Zach. Trust me, I should know," Sarah explained and Zach couldn't help but notice the sad tone in her voice.
Zach thought about what she said for a moment and noticed that it seemed to make sense. Running had never accomplished anything for anybody. "Thank... Thank you, Sarah. Thank you for talking to me," Zach said and hugged her out of thankfulness.
Sarah blushed bright red and smiled a little uncomfortably. "Err, no problem, Zach. You should get some rest now, so I'll just go. Goodnight, Zach." Sarah quickly made her way out of his room again and firmly shut the door behind her.
Zach yawned, realizing just how tired he was feeling but feeling much more content in his mind and heart. Even though he would miss his family, he felt like this might be the only place where he'd feel like he belongs.
"There's no turning back now, then," Zach said softly as his eyes closed and he drifted off into a deep slumber.