Phantom; Blessed by the devil, Cursed by the gods

Chapter 3 Casmir

As soon as Hermes disappeared Sal rushed out of school unable to contain his excitement. At first he thought he'd been hallucinating but when he saw the golden scroll still in his hands he realized that this was very real.

He didn't even take permission, he just headed home, the things Hermes said ringing in his ears.

You have been called, he'd said.

You have been chosen, he'd said.

You will see it, he'd said.

What the fuck did that mean?!

Sal sighed in frustration as he crossed the street and made his way back home.

Lester wasn't there, he hardly ever was during the day. Sal was grateful though, he didn't know how he'd explain why he wasn't in school.

He tossed his bag aside as soon as he got to his room and checked his pocket for the scroll.

Great, it was still there.

He pulled it out and stared it.

The names were there, five of them written with thick black ink, there was no clue as to who they were or how to find them, no address, no phone numbers, nothing.

....you must find each of them first before seeking out Percival, or else you will surely fail.

Sal clenched his jaws and closed his eyes.

Think Sal, he told himself.

Hermes must have dropped some clue as to how he could find these people. Sal tried to recall everything the god had said.

For someone who was blessed with deeper sight you sure are blind to the truth, aren't you?

What did he mean by deeper sight?

Sal closed his eyes and clutched the scroll in his hands.

Look through the screen, tear the veil in half, you have the power to see through the Shade, so see.

See.

He felt the mark on his chest burn and opened his eyes in shock, something seemed to click in his head and for a while everything felt woosy.

Then he looked down at the scroll in his hand, and saw one of the names stand out among the rest, glowing with a faint red light.

"Casmir" Sal whispered.

Sal felt as the name moved outward as soon he spoke it, spreading throughout the city like a ripple in space, moving past walls and anything that obstructed it.

Until it was suddenly gone.

Sal waited, unsure of what had just happened, and then, like an echo, a reply hit him.

I hear you.

Sal gasped as the response met his ears, somehow, he'd done it, now all he had to do was…

Suddenly the mark on his chest flared up and Sal felt his skin itch, like someone was drawing on it.

He looked down at his hand and saw black lines being traced onto his skin, he gulped hard and watched as the lines eventually turned into a symbol, an eye without a pupil.

Then he felt a tug in his stomach and he began to walk, to where? he had no clue but he walked.

Soon he was out of his door and was walking down the street with the scroll in his pocket, he looked around as he walked and his eyes widened.

Now he could see what he couldn't before.

He saw pale-skinned people with silver eyes and ageless faces, he saw little specks of light floating around and chattering in a language unknown to him, he saw a man who looked relatively normal but had a lion's tail and a woman with yellow glowing eyes who was half naked for some reason.