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Lakshmi is betrayed by her own family. And is left alone on a new world a bad world a world of prostitution. Knowing that her own stepfather but her here would be hard.  She made close relationships at the house people going through similar things as her. She belived her stepfather when he told her she was working as a maid and to these jobs are completely different. She is forced to leave her childhood and is forced to mature fast, and that's hard.

Pure Divinity

What is divinity? It is everything. An ineffable form of true creation.
You see them, but you don't. The divinities are everywhere. They sit in the lounge of everyone's hearts. The divinities are everything and everyone. Where there is agony there is a divinity.
Fazclus. He is the all-knowing divinity that lives in heaven. He commands all others atop from his throne.
Thrumeya. The divinity of vanity and lust. This divinity is terribly cruel, and curses those who are ugly. She can never look ugly.
Iole. The divinity of nothingness. When those who die think they have nothing left, Iole would show them true nothingness. For their arrogance of saying thus of nothing, they would be erased completely.
Vladri and Mortus. The divinities of war. They are in constant conflict when ever war is occurring. This is not of choice, but it concerns neither of them.

Michael N Bio.

Michael is a 7th grader at M.S. 51. He is a dancer and he likes to draw. He prefers stories about supernatural phenomena, and has written the Abyss and the short story "Endgame." He likes to play video games and play bowling. He won't tell anyone where he lives, so good luck finding him.

The Endgame

No one has ever survived when they play. It envelops you, it crushes you. 
It banishes every hope in your mind. As it ends you, you feel nothing but fear and sorrow. I wonder what they thought in their final moments? Sorrow that they failed the test? Rage that they were tricked? Or again was it sorrow, that their families would weep in sorrow through fault of their own? I would find out, because today I am the one who faces He who butchers the soul.
My sister is the one who believes I can pass, because I'm unlike everyone else. If I survive, it's over. No one will have to be butchered again.
"I'm worried," I tell Celia, my sister. "What if I don't pass? If I escape and don't kill that thing.... what if you have to-" I couldn't finish that sentence. I lost mother. I cannot lose Celia. 
"You'll be fine," she said with a smile. Her beautiful black hair shone in the rain mixed with the sun. "Now get over there!" She had to push me into the tunnel.
The tunnel was lit by candles and soft music. The music was supposed to be an apology for sending us off to Oblivion. But no apology is ever enough for forcing us to die. I am close to the gate with the butcher. I can see inside the room. The room. The butcher is silent. The souls of the dead inside. One soul above all other floats gracefully. It speaks to me in a faint voice.
It's you. After all these years, I finally found you. 
"What? Who are you?" I ask.
I am Lena. I was killed by the beast years ago. I saw a prophecy that 10 years from my death, a hero would come. You are the first reaped of the tenth year.
"You're making a mistake. I'm not a hero. I have some abilities like my arm, but..."
I'm not lying. Enter the room of the Butcher and the chain of destiny will begin to bind you.
Lena was right of course. Once I entered the room, I felt an unusual sensation in my soul. Lena's soul also pulsated. The Butcher must have noticed, because he began to wake up. He roared and I drew my sword. I jumped up and slashed him in the face.
RRRRRRAGHHHHHH!!!! His scream echoed all around the room. If I had not jumped away from him, I would've gone deaf. I shot a blast of demonic energy at him, and he swatted it back at me. It exploded right in front of me and I was blown back at the wall. I looked at Lena's soul. The Butcher was coming toward her. She was terrified.
"Get away from her!" I yelled, throwing my sword at the beast. The sword's handle hit Lena's soul, absorbing it. I felt horrified. I had become a murderer. When I gripped the handle. I felt an unusual sensation. My left arm began to pulsate. It glowed. Was Lena inside me now?
I told you so, sucker! she laughed.
"Heh. Guess from now on I'll trust my elders. Let's kill this thing!"
My arm began to pulsate violently. A dark aura began to envelop me. My arm began to change shape. 
I feel as if my arm is becoming enveloped with Lena's memories and her own darkness. I don't have time to think about this, because I am busy registering what Lena did to me.
She has changed my arm. Scar-like marking appear on the arm, followed with an insignia on the hand. It depicts two black stars.
"Whoa. What did you do to me?" I ask.
You'll find out, she replies from within me. Suddenly my nails grow and come towards him. My nails actually represent blades. My arm is like an animal's claw. The nails glow purple as the Butcher is stabbed in the heart.
I don't move. I wait for the first sign that this isn't over. It never comes. The demon dissipates into Oblivion. The room suddenly fades into light. The souls of the butchered fade upward as I walk out.
      "The rain hasn't stopped." I say. It still rains, as if the bad day isn't over.
"I told you so."
I turn around to see Lena. Wait, I just saw her. I'm not sure how, but...
"How did you get a body?" I ask her.
"You," Lena says unemotionally. You helped me escape, so I'm restored. I should thank you." Lena turns around and leaves. "But I shouldn't be in this picture right now. We'll meet again, Tenka."
She faded away. But not upward or downward. It was like she was teleporting away. I simply shrug and walk off.
"Who was that, Tenka?" Celia asks as I pass her. I am silent for a while before I answer.
"A friend." She doesn't talk about it as we head home.
"Soooo.... you survived and I said you would. I have my demand list ready...."
"Is that the only reason you cheered me on? Some helpful sister you are!" We laugh at this and walk home.
The rain doesn't stop as I walk from the Endgame



Epilogue
  Lena hasn't come back for a year. And the rain has continued for a year. I wonder if the two occurrences are connected, but the very idea seems ridiculous. 
I practice with my abilities every day, and use my abilities. I learn to summon, but I'm not comforted by that knowledge. I just simply hang out with the crew. Celia and the other two.
Celia's calm as we hang out inside, but I hear the doorbell.
"I'm coming," I say, and open the door.
Lena is standing outside silently. She then says "Hi. Can I come in?"
And that's when the rain stops. 

     Love was something the society didn't want, something they had taken away a long time ago. I remember the flames bursting inside of me as they dragged me from my family to the insane asylum. I didn't understand why, why they could do such a thing to me when I only had feelings for people, and cared about others.

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Rick looks up and shrugs. "If you're asking about feelings," he says, "I wouldn't know."
Rick is probably the most annoying bunk mate in the world. "Besides," Rick says, "Feelings are complicated and you're only 13."
     I swing my feet over the side of the bunk bed and sigh. There has to be someone who knows. The huge, grey, metal gate in the front of the room swings open, and in walks Garret. "What's the matter?" Rick says. Garret has purplish-blue bags under his eyes, and he looks like he hadn't slept in weeks. Rick stands up and pulls on the tray of food that Garret was pushing. "Bad pay check this week?" I ask, knowing it probably was, as usual. Rick continues to pull on the cart. It was a game they play, battling for the food by pulling it away from one another, although Garret works at the asylum and can get all the food he wants.
     Garret looks at me and shakes his head. "The master killed another one," he says, and we all go into a silent shock. It's so dead silent that the nothingness seems to bounce off the walls and hit us in the face. "Who was it?" I ask, breaking the silence. "It was that shy man, the one who made everyone those odd bracelets," Garret says. "Ty," Rick and I both say at once. He was greatly known for making weird things, like bracelets as Garret suggested. It was weird for a man I guess, and although he had a broad figure, many at the asylum thought of him as feminine, gay.                        
     A sharp voice calls out from the hallways, past the metal gate. Garret shrugs. He hands Rick and I each a steel bowl full of soup. They claim the steel bowls are just to save money, because they're unbreakable. We all know the real reason is because if they were glass, we could kill each other with the cold, sharp, shards. Some people at the asylum are actually crazy and will kill to escape. I look down into my soup. Great, chicken noodle soup leftovers. Again. I flop back down on the stiff mattress and try to remember the last time I saw real glass.

     I wake up to the ear-piercing sound of a whistle blasted in my face. Turning my head to the side, I wince at the sight of a perfectly shaved tan man in a track suit. "Good morning," he says automatically. I sit up in my bunk bed, almost hitting my head on the ceiling. "Please be careful while sitting upwards," the tan man says. I nod as I hear groans coming from below me. Rick is awake. "Hey Prince," He shouts up at me. "You awake?"
Still expressionless, the guy in the track suit bends down to talk to Rick, who's now sitting up on his uncomfortable mattress scratching his head in a morning wonder. "Please," the tan man says, "Call Princeton here by his full name." Now, his eyes wide open from the unexpected visitor, Rick nods. He knows, we all know, if he we talk back or make any smart remark, there will be consequences. The guy hands me a daily schedule. I pretend to actually look over the creamy colored paper, but the truth is, they waste their time printing out a new copy for everyone in the asylum every day. Everyone has the same stupid schedule memorized.
     I carefully climb out of bed, knowing that the perfect man's eyes are still on me. "So," I say politely, "what brings you here to cell 355?"
The man gives his answer in a short, clear response. Any imperfections or emotions are against the law, and that's why I'm here. All because I broke the stupid law. Everyone is supposed to be perfect here, and if not you are put into a selected insane asylum to be what they call, "mentally repaired."
"I am not sure if you remember, Princeton, but I complete small checkups with each cell every year. If you do recall, there are 365 cells at this insane asylum, and every day I visit a single one of those cells. If I am correct," he continues, "you have been here for about a year, starting on the first day of January. That means that you have been here 355 days." I nod, my head still dizzy from processing all of that. I nearly jump out of my skin when Garret enters with the morning meal, slowing his pace as he realizes the presence of the man in the track suit. "Good morning sir," Garret says awkwardly between side-glances with Rick and I. Carefully, he picks up a heavy steel plate with two red pills balancing in the center. "Your morning meal has arrived," Garret says, trying not to make any clumsy actions.We get served pills for breakfast, and actual food for luch and dinner. "I should get going," the perfect man says. "I will see you next year," he adds, with a final nod. He pulls open the gate, and then he's gone. I see Rick and Garret's shoulders relax, but my mind is wandered off to another thought, the thought of still being here next year. The man had basically just said "we keep people locked in these cells forever," right to my face. It might as well be forever for me, because I don't think I can wait another year to see my family.

     On Monday morning, the guards at the front of the building line up all 730 prisoners. "There has been a weapon found in the building," a guard says, trying to keep a straight, calm, tone. A wave of excitement and confusion builds over the crowd. Rick nudges me and points to the perfect man, standing in the corner of the yard. There is silence once again as one of the guards, dressed in a navy suit, puts his hand up as to signal for everyone to be quiet. Rick nudges me again. I look at him, and through clenched teeth I say, "do you really think this is a good time?"
He shakes his head violently, and points again, quickly. This time I see it. Simply an imperfection.

     I almost laugh. Between the perfect man and the trimmed, green grass, I spy the gate. No one else seems to notice, but the gate is wide open. I squint my eyes and strain my neck in that direction. All I see is green, tall green grass and wild forests with overgrown vines and untrimmed trees. Thats not the home I remember. Rick and I look at each other in confusion. As I remember, the leaves on all the trees were always trimmed into neat circles or triangles, an illusion of perfection that almost seems to dance in the back of my eyes. Now, they were overgrown and bushy.
     "Do you think we can escape?" Rick asks. I look at him like he's gone mad.
"Seriously?" I ask, feeling like the track suit guy is watching me. "Come on prince!" Rick whispers. He points to his bare feet, which he is now straining. Rick flexes his foot so hard, so that it practically grows a size smaller. I grin, looking at how big the shackles are compared to his feet. Rick easily slips one out, and we try not to make it obvious that we're excited. Quickly, I glance at the guard, who is still talking to all of the lined up men. The shackles are on every ones feet, so that if one person escapes, well, they can't. I look down at Ricks feet. He has both out, and now stands on top of the shackles.
     As soon as I get out of my shackles, I can't move because my feet hurt so much from straining.
My heart beats; and Rick looks eager to go. We check to see who is standing by the gate, and I practically go into shock when I see that the perfect man has moved. I look around for him, and see that he is now at the other end of the yard, watching the people on that side. Rick and I giggle, although I'm to old to giggle.  This day is just too perfect to be true.
"On three we make a go," Rick whispers. No one has noticed the gate yet.
"One..." Rick says, impatiently.
"Two..." I say.
"Three," we both nearly shout.
   
     Heads shoot our way, and before I know it I'm running, with this blast of energy bursting inside me like a weed planted deeply into the ground that refuses to leave. I hear shouts behind me, but that also seems to be behind the noise of my heart beating rapidly. The gate is a few yards ahead, and Rick is sprinting into the forest, touching everything with his hands spread out like a soaring eagle. As I speed past the cold gate, I feel a sharp pain in the back of my foot. It makes and earsplitting sound, and immediately I know it's one of the guards swinging at me with a wooden bat. I ignore the pain, and keep running, speeding up as I think of my family. I did it. I reached the gate.
     I slam it behind me, knowing that it automatically locks. It would take several minutes for the guards to get that open. Behind me I hear cheers coming from the prisoners, and In front of me I see freedom.

   
   
   

   
   
   
   



   

Abyss Chapter 4

I charged at the keeper and threw the flames at him. I'm not sure whether he manipulated time or space, but the flame seemed to slow down as it reached him. He pulled out a scythe and directed the flames back at me. They were much faster than when I shot them.
"Nice try, boy," he snarled cruelly with a smile. As he moved his scythe around, he stomped on the floor. A moment later I wasn't moving as fast. He was moving normally, if not faster.
 "If you think that cheap magic is enough to harm me, you have learned nothing on your journey!" he cackled evilly. He rushed forward and slashed at me with his scythe. I barely had less than a second to block. I forced him back by igniting my body with the flames. Regardless of his godlike power, he could not manipulate the flame based on the short distance. The flames burned his body.
He was silent for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and calmly turned his scythe around in a circle motion.
"What are you doing?" Z asked sternly.
The man was simply looking down. A moment later he began to speak.
"Is that any way to speak to a god?" He stated. "I am not to be trifled with in that matter. I govern the worlds inside the Abyss. Such as the dome young Toby dwelled in."
"How do you know this?" I asked.
"I know of everything that in this dimension. But I paid special attention to your dome, once you were born."
"What?"
"Your soul is strong. The essence inside you is leaking out. That is why YOU are an immortal. This is why you are a GOD!!!"
"A god? Im-im-impossible! You're LYING!!!" I screamed. "YOU cursed me! You were the reason I was always brought back!! You only think of me as a pawn!!!"
"Think what you want, but as a god, I am forbidden to lie. It is my oath. Think of that oath, and ask me what reason I would lie to YOU."
I couldn't speak. I was overwhelmed with emotions. Rage. Hatred. Sorrow. Hopelessness.
Despair.
"It's unfortunate. I thought I could guide you along. But all you are is a slave to delusions and memories. Your existence is worthless. Nothing but a mistake." That was my breaking point.
I roared at the god in rage and rushed at him. Red fire fueled every single strike. He could not block every single attack. I gave him a deep slash to the chest that burned with red fire.
"AAAAAARGHHHHH!!!!" he roared in pain. I walked in surprise as the flames turned violet again.
"It's-it's over," Z said in shock. "You just-"
I couldn't speak. I was as shocked as him. I was calm and surprised as my lips formulated the words I was thinking.
"We can go through now."
"Not quite," the god said.
I whipped around. "It's over. I won. You have to let us through now."
"I'm fine with that. I failed. That means your existence is meaningful. One last word." He coughed up blood and moaned in pain. Z rushed forward to help him.
"Aurus, don't speak. You'll- you'll be fine. Just hold on." He was close to tears.
"The last word. I have....I have to tell Toby. It is the last thing I must do in this life." He beckoned me forward.
"You may go. You are no longer shackled by your past existence. Once you enter that door, your destiny will be separated from Z's. Your memories will be erased until you can start anew. But you two will meet again. That is the promise I will make to you. You.....will.......rejo......."
And with that, Aurus faded into essence. All he left were feathers. I took one of them. There was writing on it.
                                                       

 This is all I can give to you. This is my final blessing.
Thank you for everything. It was my hope to be defeated. And I wish you luck, as the chains that bind your soul are loosened and replaced.                       -Aurus


The gate suddenly opened slowly. I was staring at the gate.
"Wait."
I turned around.
"This note.... and his last words..... do they mean we'll forget each other?" Z sounded afraid. He only had one friend right now. Me. He couldn't afford to forget.
 And neither could I. I don't know anyone anymore but him. And Aurus. One of them was dead. I couldn't forget the one remaining.

Then I thought about what the Abyss does. t slowly drains aay your memories of a past world, but the Abyss isn't a world. It's nothing. And you can't forget Nothing.
"No. We won't forget each other."
Z looked up hopefully. "What?"
"As long as two people have a strong friendship, it will carry on even in the afterlife. We won't see each other for a while, but we'll meet again. That's a fact."
We shook hands, and walked through the Gate together.
A light shone in the distance. Memories flooded through me. I didn't know if the memories were fabricated or real, or ones I wanted. But Z's memory stayed. I held my feather. The last tether to Z and Aurus. The light started to fade. My eyes were closing. My last sight before entering the new world was a purple flower, an orchid. It began to burn softly. Ashes flew into the distant stars. The orchid burned and burned until.....

Abyss: Chapter 3

The fire died out as I entered the abyss. The orchid flew back into the pendant. I hit the ground pretty hard, and I was laying down. 
I quickly got up and began to walk. I walked for a while until I heard someone say "FREEZE!"
I whipped around and took out my art book. I waited as they took out a device, but I stabbed the pendant ever so slightly. The flames took all my energy to keep in check. The device began to whir as it scanned me so I could be identified. The device chirped.
"He can't be identified. He must be a...! SHOOT HIM! BLAST HIM! I WANT HIM DEAD!!!" 
That was all I needed to hear. I let the flames loose and shot them as a cannon towards two of the seven soldiers. They fell down instantly. I saw the rest of them shooting at me, but the fire was burning the bullets. I opened my sketchbook and breathed fire on the page. The drawing of the dragon came to life. The dragon constantly roared and breathed intense violet flames. The flames killed the all but one who was behind me. 
The flames weren't covering me! If he shot me, it would be the end. I quickly turned around to guard myself when I saw him lying dead. He was slashed on the back and stabbed. I looked around for the culprit, and then noticed a shadow right behind me, and it wasn't mine. I yelled, "Get back!", and flames erupted all around me. The figure jumped back, and I could notice he was a boy. 
"Who are you?' I asked. No answer. Suddenly I was thrown over to another area into the Abyss.
"This place is for the disgraced," the boy whispered. "If you're thrown out of the dome, or out of Heaven, you're supposed to get a second chance. But you're turned away. Because everyone's afraid of you." I felt sorry knowing that he was one of them. "But what did you do to make them throw you out?" he asked.
"Nothing." I said
"What?" 
"I said I came here by myself." I stated plainly. "I'm not telling you why."
"I wasn't going to ask. Where are you headed?"
"Tom's."
"No surprise." he sighed. Did he know?
"Wait! What's your name?
My name is Z. It isn't my real name, but it's the one I chose so I could forget......"
"I'm Toby."
"Never mind the pleasantries. Just break out that fire magic of yours and let's go."
"Yeah, got it." I was about to break the pendant when I noticed something.
"I can't."
"What?! Why not?"
"I used up the orchid too much. We can get there another way."
"How?"
"My sketches!" I took out the book, but it was empty. "Damn." Then I thought about what I did with Kendall.
"Z, is there anyone here everyone else wants gone?"


A few minutes later I am traveling through the rivers as electricity, only coming up when I want to fly.
"You are terribly weird," Z notes. 
"It isn't my fault I was born this way." As we are flying, something comes to me." 
"Z, did you ever have friends?" With this he is silent.
"I used to. Until I left."
"What?"
Z sighed, near tears. "It was three years ago. I was living inside the dome. I was curious about what was outside the walls. So I left and I didn't come back. I was twelve when I left. When I came back, everything was different. I learned a secret about he dome. Time runs faster inside than outside. Nine hundred years passed. I couldn't go back because I had nowhere to go. I've been looking ever since for somewhere that I belong. Everyone I knew passed away. I was basically a fallen angel. No one thought of me. I was easy prey for demons and the police. I had to survive. That's when I awakened my sword."
"Three years ago.....my father passed away that year. That's when I found the pendant in my father's room. Do you think they're connected?"
"Two separate times increments? I don't think so. We need to keep moving." We were silent after that.

After, four days, something happened. "LOOK OUT!" I draw my sword and a sphere of  flame covered Z and I. As the flame died I dropped to the ground.
"Demons!" Z cried. He took out his katana and rushed to the ground, splitting one of them in half. These demons were easy to take out. I prepared a whole plan to take them all to Hell. I would create a decoy of myself, then disappear behind the demons, then create lightning bolts to electrocute them. Just as I was about to execute my plan, I noticed that Z had beat me to it.
His katana shone with a brilliant light as a circle of light was on the rocky floor. I dashed away. His katana struck the ground, and a pillar of light rose from it, incinerating the demons.
"Too slow," he said with a snicker.
"Showoff," I retorted. I turned the orchid off. "Let's go. I need answers."
"To what?"
"My abilities."

A month later, we come across what appears to be a gate. "I know what this is," Z says. If you are deemed worthy enough by the Keeper, he lets you pass into a new realm, but everyone forgets you even existed on the other side."
"Let's head through!" I state clearly.
"We have to wait for the keeper to judge us!" Z says.
"Oh, indeed, indeed!" We see a black door, and a young man comes out. "I am the keeper of this gate. I judge based on your past and your power. if you-" he looks at me in shock.

Then, with a grim expression on his face, he says," New test. If you want to go through you must defeat me."
"Why?" Z asks. "This isn't the test!"
"For you and Toby, it is!"
"What? How do you know me?"
"I know everyone who dreams. You in particular."
"Then- YOU were the one in my dream! You're the Masked Man! Tell me right now! What is happening to me!"
"First, you must fight." The man would not change his mind. I grew more angry by the minute. "That's it! Fine! You want a fight?! You got one!!"
"He smiled evilly. "This is it, then. Turn away now, turn away forever."
"I'm not giving up! Me and Z came this far! Neither of us are in the position to flee!"
"That's the answer I was hoping for." Z draws his sword, I break the pendant, and the violet flames engulf my body, and my sword appears in my hand.
This answers both our hopes, and we charge toward the Keeper with determined looks.