The demon's grip got tighter, preventing him from speaking any longer. Bang flailed around the air and struggled to be free from the restrictions. His hands tried to pry open the demon's clutch but it was too strong. His nails clawed at the demon's skin but it had no effect.
He was starting to see spots in his vision, a symptom of losing oxygen to the brain. His brain went blank as he stopped struggling and tried to endure as long as he can but he would pass out at any second. His sight became dark as he was on the brink of unconsciousness.
The demon flinched its head, trying to suppress something but it only made the flinching worse. The demon frantically shook its head and opened its jaws wide. Bang gasped wildly as he finally got a breath of fresh air when the demon got distracted with its own problems.
"Ahh....no..."
Bang could hear two voices coming out from the demon. One was a low rumbling sound and the other was a familiar voice, Ligi's voice. The demon's black eyes started to become white as Ligi's voice began to overpower the demon's voice.
"Ahhh.....get....out...of my....head!!!!"
The demon released its grip on Bang's neck and let him fall to the ground. He coughed and held his reddish neck, his throat burned, and his breathing became heavier. He backed off the demon who was thrashing around the air as it shook and held its head from the pain it was feeling.
Ligi's head started to emerge from the demon's chest with his eyes closed. The demon's body convulsed as it took its hands and tried to push Ligi's head back into its chest. The demon and Ligi were fighting for control over who gets to control the body.
————————
"Hey Ligi, are you okay?"
The woman shook Ligi out of his stupor. She smiled at him, with her eyes squinting in delight. The woman looked warm. She was wearing yellow clothes and an orange hairpin that tied a part of her hair that fell to her shoulders. Her cheeks had a reddish tint yet her hands were cold to the touch. It was as dead as the lonely void, away from any warmth and closeness.
Ligi ignored the contrast as he focused on the task at hand. He dedicated himself to washing the dishes the best that he can even if it was trivial.
"You're doing great kiddo."
The man spoke as he sat on a chair reading a newspaper. He was smoking a pipe as he relaxed after a hard day's work. Ligi did not notice the lack of pictures in the newspaper and that there was only one sentence in the entire newspaper that was repeated over and over. 'Wake up!' was plastered all over the newspaper yet the man was reading it diligently. This was the idyllic family life, according to Ligi, even though the man's face had changed.
*knock* *knock* *knock*
A hard knocking sound came from the outside yet Ligi heard it like it was right next to his ears. It felt like the sound was being directly transmitted to his brain yet he felt that there was nothing wrong with it.
The door suddenly burst open revealing a demonic being full of horns, claws, blood, and black wings. It exuded black air and sludge was flowing out from its skin. Its muscular body couldn't fit inside the door so the demon destroyed the doorway. The person who came into the door was Bang yet Ligi saw him as a demon.
The demon looked directly at Ligi and it made him flinch. He walked backward, afraid of the monstrosity that was walking towards him. His vision became dark and all he could see was the monster that was right in front of him.
"Don't XXX misled.....by XXXX...dreams.....that...XXXX....your....life,...XXX merely...XXX guide.....for XXX....XXX pursue."
The demon spoke to him with broken sentences. There seemed to be noise that interfered with whatever it wanted to say which left Ligi confused about its intent. The mysterious purpose of the devil only made it creepier in Ligi's eyes.
The man sitting on a chair and reading the newspaper suddenly came behind the demon and smacked it with the newspaper. The man had no fear, no emotion, and no self-preservation as he looked at the demon with a deadpan expression. His movements looked like it was calculated, mechanical, and an imitation.
The demon looked at the man and pierced his heart with its arms full of claws. There was no blood, no fuss, and no resistance as the demon killed the man instantly. The corpse of the man was smiling as if it wasn't just killed in broad daylight, which made it look even creepier as the dead body of the man looked directly at Ligi.
"AHH.....NO!!!!"
Ligi screamed to his lung's capacity yet there was no sound coming out of his mouth. He backed away even further as he recognized the bizarre behavior of everybody present. He looked at the dead body of the man he considered his father yet the face he saw was unrecognizable. There was no physical appearance to this man, just a blank face empty of any emotion and empty of any memories.
The woman he considered his mother took his hands with so much force that he winced in pain. He looked at his mother and saw no warmth, no kindness, no tenderness, and no feelings to the empty expression. The woman spoke to him in a mechanical voice.
"Go to your room and lock the door. Do not, under any circumstances, get out of your room. Do you understand me?"
The woman's grip on his hands got even tighter as he tried to pry himself free from the clutches of this unknown woman. After exerting effort into freeing himself, he stumbled backward and fell to his rear. The woman walked forward to him, casting a shadow on her face.
He looked at the monster and the woman coming towards him. Strangely, he felt that the monster was more comforting, more human than the woman who showed no emotions. She was like a facade of a human being, devoid of any suffering, and any real emotions.
"Ligi....wake XX.....Get out...XX.....XXXX.....dream!"
The monster spoke to him with cryptic messages yet he could strangely understand it. It was like they had a connection but he was wary of this memory. How could he feel more connected to a monster than the one he considered his mother? He couldn't decide so he had to voice out his frustrations.
"AHHH.....GET....OUT...OF MY....HEAD!!!!"
He closed his eyes and held his head as it started to ache. He was feeling nauseous, wanting to vomit out everything inside. He opened his eyes and saw the darkness surrounding him. It was just an empty void, barren of any color, and destitute of any emotion.
"HA.....HA...HA...You were able.....to get out."
A voice from deep inside his heart spoke to him. This deep growling voice was familiar to him and all of a sudden, it clicked. His memories came back to him like a tsunami, overwhelming his mind making him stumble down to his rear.
His childhood and his suffering returned to him, in deep contrast to the fake memories that were implanted in his mind. After that, he remembered meeting Bang and how his life had changed because of that. He had power because of him. He was still deeply indebted to Bang because Bang allowed him to experience the world, meet new people, and even meet his very own rival.
The demon walked out from the shadows and revealed itself to him. Its figure was large, overbearing, and domineering which intimidated Ligi. Its reddish-black skin glowed in the dark surroundings yet the demon's heart was dim. The horns protruding on its head was fully grown and spiraled around itself. The mean face of the demon looked directly at Ligi.
"What do you want?"
"Ha...ha...ha....you know...what I...want.....I...want to...control you."
"You will never control me."
"Ha...ha...ha...but I...already...am."
The dark void suddenly changed into the scenery in the Dreaded Valley. Their surroundings showed the moment Ligi lost control and transformed into the demon and terrorized the whole valley. Ligi saw himself almost kill Gotang by disabling his skills and finishing him off using the scythe. Even Bang, the man he swore to protect, his benefactor, was almost killed by him. He winced at the sight of him choking the life out of Bang.
"That's....not.....all"
The scenery changed and displayed what the demon was seeing right now, at that moment. The demon flew across the air towards Gotang, gripped his throat, and pointed the scythe directly at his chest.
Gotang was unable to do anything with his skills still silenced. The demon was overpowering him in every aspect as he felt himself on the brink of death. The scythe was digging deeper into his body, only a millimeter away from his heart.
"NO!!!!!"
Ligi didn't want to kill Gotang. He didn't want to kill anyone but his body was being controlled by a demon. He was just a passenger watching the events unfold, unable to do anything.