"Before the storm, there is a silence... but in that silence lies the promise of devastation."
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(POV: Ryogaku)
The warm sunlight was filtering in through the blinds, casting long rays of light on the floor and walls of my room.
However, the warmth did nothing to soothe the growing unease inside me.
I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands on my sides, grabbing the sheets with a tight grip.
I could feel something gnawing inside me... a feeling of dread, like a calm before the storm.
My breathing was ragged, my heart racing as the feeling grew every second.
"Why?" I muttered, my voice deep, echoing in the confines of the room.
Nothing had happened, not up to now, at least. But this sensation wouldn't leave me, no matter how much I tried to shake it off.
My eyes wandered around, my gaze landing on my table in the corner of the room, scattered with papers and books.
On the edge of the table was a photograph, which sent a pang of pain through my heart.
The picture was of myself, with those three—Alexia, Johan, and Anny—happy and carefree.
They all were taken away from me in different, horrific ways, their faces still haunted me, all day long.
"I failed them."
These words hit deep, but they were true.
I had vowed to get stronger, to carry their legacy, but I still felt like a fish in a sea of sharks.
My eyes drifted away landing on a piece of newspaper stuck up to the wall.
"Ryomen Sukuna—Innocent, or guilty?"
My gaze hardened as I read the headline once more.
Sukuna.
He committed such a massacre, and walked away free, with no sign of guilt or remorse.
Every time my eyes landed on the article, I get reminded of my own childhood, how my mother burned, her screams echo in my ears to this day.
"That murderer," I muttered, my voice laced with hatred.
The innocent people, who gave him the right to take their lives? What kind of twisted sense of justice did he cling to, pretending that his actions were justified?
"One day, Sukuna," I muttered, my hands trembling as I gripped the sheets harder. "One day, I'll make you pay."
I knew deep inside, that my hate for Sukuna... the desire for revenge... was just something I made up to prove myself.
I was alone, frustrated, and my dislike for Sukuna was what I decided to take it out on.
I didn't hate Sukuna, rather, I admired his strength... but his actions... they went against everything my life was built upon.
Now, it was too late, the darkness in me had grown too large.
Something inside me snapped, and I got up, unable to stay sitting any longer.
I opened the window, looking outside at the sky, beautiful and blue, covered in clouds.
My eyes went to the streets, the sounds of cars whooshing by, the pedestrians walking without worry.
This world thinks it knows fear, that it knows its enemies.
But I could feel... there was something much bigger at play. A sense of impending doom overtook me, something darker just out of sight.
And Sukuna... he was part of it, my heart told me so.
My eyes wandered back to the photograph, the joyful faces of my friends making my heart heavy.
"I'll stop him," I muttered, extending my hand towards the photograph, as if they were looking at me from within. "I'll stop Sukuna, no matter what."
Deep down, the feeling kept gnawing at me.
This wasn't vengeance, but something deeper, something that I had no idea about.
"Alexia, Anny, Johan," I muttered, my eyes gleaming with determination, my voice growing hoarse with emotion. "When I meet you in the afterlife, I'll make sure you'll be proud of me."
I closed my eyes, my breathing slowly relaxing.
If only you were alive today...
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(POV: Johan Wolff)
(A few days ago...)
My eyes slowly opened, my vision blurry as I tried to move my head.
A rocky ceiling came into view, dimly lit by a wooden torch placed in the corner of the room, burning with a yellow flame.
I slowly got up, supporting myself by my elbows, groaning in pain.
My whole body hurt, as if I was being crushed from all sides at once.
Immediately, I knew the reason.
The mana was extremely dense here, more than twice what my body was used to, and it felt as if... as if I was deep underwater.
"Shit," I cursed, mounting myself on the wall, looking around the room.
The first thing I noticed was myself. I was covered in bandages from head to toe, looking like a mummy.
The bandages were stained red on some parts, by my blood, probably.
As the physical pain slowly subsided, I felt something inside me, something more than familiar, but... I couldn't out my finger on it.
It was unpleasant... a dark energy circulating in my veins.
My limbs felt heavier, my senses felt sharper. It was as if I could see everything, hear every sound.
I don't know what... but something was different.
Around the room, there was nothing... no windows, no lights, only a single wooden door.
The chilly wall was in contact with my back, an eerily uncomfortable feeling, but I didn't have energy to move.
My mind, however, was running, trying to figure out my situation.
I had been in the ruins... then the gate... and then...
The taste of blood... Alexia's blood... returned to my mouth, making my face scrunch up.
I swallowed hard, my throat dry.
Before I could think of anything, the door opened with a loud creak, a lone figure stepping inside.
He was tall, brawny. He looked quite normal, but the feeling I got from him was almost like a... monster.
I could feel something from him... something I knew all too well.
Demonic energy.
My thoughts were overwhelmed by hate. I instinctively tried to raise my hands to attack, but to no avail.
My hands lay limp on the floor, unmoving, as if there weren't in my control.
No... they were in my control, but there was something in my mind that told me to... stay, to be patient and listen.
"Hey you, you're finally awake," he said, his voice steady, but he seemed to be slightly intimidated by my glare.
I kept staring at him, I couldn't do anything else, I winced at the pain in my limbs as I moved to a better position.
"Where am I?" I asked, my voice cold, demanding answers.
The man stepped closer, pausing for a moment before replying.
"The Northern Forests," he replied matter-of-factly. "The main base of the revolters."
I blinked, trying to absorb the information.
Northern forests? Revolters?
"What is that about?" I asked, confused, as I shifted in my spot uncomfortably.
The man looked at me, as confused as I was. "People revolting against the demon rule?"
My eyes widened at the words.
Demon rule?
Was there such a thing? How did it go unseen?
I tried to calm myself down, I already had enough things to worry about.
Was this inside a dungeon...? Did I enter an S-Rank dungeon by mistake?
My hand instinctively went to my chest, where the mark was, the place I touched whenever I had to vent, or to talk to myself.
Surprisingly, my hand moved without any resistance.
Even more shockingly... the mark was gone.
I looked at my chest, both happy and confused at not finding the mark.
Was it removed? Or did it go to someone else?
"It is clear you're not well-off, I can tell that much by your Qi," he said, pulling me back from my thoughts.
Qi? Was it something I had...? Was it the weird energy I feel?
He raised his hand, a feeling of dread creeping into my heart.
I felt demonic energy concentrate into his hand.
I instinctively wanted to defend myself, but once more, my body didn't move.
"You have only this much," he said, pushing his hand, with demonic energy swirling on top of it, towards me. "No wonder you had to run away."
I blinked at him. Was Qi... demonic energy?
He pulled his hand back, the demonic energy... Qi, dissipating into the air.
"Now you have two choices," he said, his voice growing eerily cold. "Join us, and live freely, or not join us, and die in the forest."
I felt a sense of dread sink in. I didn't know where I was... or where to go. I was lost in all ways.
If I refused, I'll be in unknown territory, all alone, only this injured body to support me.
If I accepted, I'll still be in unknown territory, but with some support... hopefully.
But... I would have to work with these filthy beings... demons.
As I looked into his eyes, I knew... I had to choose.
"I'll... join," I said, hesitantly, trying to hide my disdain of joining hands with demons... the beings I swore to destroy.
The man nodded, seemingly expecting the response. He knew that I had no other choice.
A small smile bloomed on his face, supposedly from getting a new member, a young and lively one at that.
"We'll have food brought to you soon, rest your body, you're pretty injured, though you'd know that best," he said, his words no longer carrying the authority they once did.
It was as if I was talking to... a friend?
No... I would never befriend these demons... all they do is... kill humans...
Images flashed in my mind... that day... my mom.
I shook the thoughts off my mind, my teeth slightly grit as I looked at the retreating figure of the man.
He walked out with unhurried steps, his footsteps echoing in the small, rocky room.
He closed the door with a thud, leaving me in the silence once more.
I slumped back against the wall, staring at the ceiling.
What had I gotten myself into?
The question swirled around in my head, my body motionless, but my heart racing.
Wait... he said that I had little Qi. Which means... do I have demonic energy inside me!?
This realization hit me hard, my eyes widening as my stomach churned, bile rising in my throat.
My heart pounded, as if trying to push the energy away, to escape from the confines of the darkness.
My breathes came in shallow gasps as I clawed at my chest, trying to tear this filth out of me.
"No..." I whispered, my voice heavy with emotion. "I'm not one of them... I can't be."
With each pulse of my heart, I felt the energy traveling inside me.
It felt like betrayal... I was betraying my mom... the promise I made to her.
My body... my mind... they weren't mine anymore.
"What if this..." I whispered, tears forming in my eyes as I grit my teeth, drawing blood from my gums.
Blood flowed down from my mouth as I tried to tear the bandages away.
"...takes over? What if this... thing inside me grows?" I muttered, my movements slowing down.
I punched the wall, the loud thud reverberating in the room.
I lay in the room for a long time... a time that felt longer than eternity.
My heart never seemed to calm down, but I tried my best to wriggle out of the painful situation I had found myself in.
And there was only one thing that supported me still...
'Until all your enemies are destroyed'
Sukuna's words echoed in my mind, pulling me back to reality.
I slowly calmed down, my tear-filled eyes burning with an intense fire.
I'm not like them... it doesn't matter if I have their energy flowing in my veins.
I took a deep, shaky breath, my trembling hands slowly steadying.
They're still the enemy... and I'll keep moving forward, until all my enemies... "Are destroyed."
My words echoed in the confines of the room, filled with emotion.
This wasn't a statement, but a promise.
I was left in the room alone, my heavy breathing the only thing breaking the silence.
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(POV: Aiden Arceid)
(At present...)
The hum of the plane's engine filled my ears, a monotonous noise that contrasted heavily with the anticipation in my mind.
I was looking outside the window, the beautiful, white clouds swirling outside.
A wicked smile was plastered on my face, a reminder of the chaos to come.
"Finally time," I whispered, by voice dropping to a whisper. "Hundreds of years... just for this moment."
I leaned back onto the seat, the seatbelt tugging at my waist.
I looked out of the window, at the seemingly endless sky, a sense of melancholy in my eyes.
"The world showed me what fear was... what pain was," I muttered, my smile not fading. "Many centuries ago..."
I closed my eyes, memories resurfacing, reminding me of everything I had gone through.
"I failed... once, twice, thrice... more times than I could remember," I muttered, my voice growing hoarse.
"And... there was one thing common in all my tries..." I muttered, my eyes slowly opening, continuing to gaze out at the pretty picture outside the window.
A light, almost dark chuckle escaped my lips. "...humans... demons... they are all the same."
I sighed, my lips slowly curling down, the smile disappearing.
"They're all the same... when they're fighting for survival in the storm."
My grip on the armrest tightened, my knuckles turning slightly white as it creaked under the pressure.
"I am that storm," I whispered, the sound of engines humming steadily slowly fading out of my mind. "And no one survives the storm."
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What's a fantasy novel without Qi?
Dont worry, I'll try not to make it complicated.
Anyhow... next chapter will mark the start of the unending action this story has been lacking ;)
well, cya next time!
gimme POWER STONES :3