Niveen looked to the sky, a drop of blood that slowly shifted in form. It hardened, became clad in flames and rained to the ground like a meteor. It destroyed all, the town, the struggler as well as the tree that surrounded the village. That was Xem's absolute might, the might of a being that he could conjure on a whim.
~
Eight years ago :
"Niveen? Are you okay?" Xem's tearful eyes glistening against the moonlight. It was a time before he became the undead shadow. At that time, kidnapping as well as matters to do with human trafficking had become the normal. The conquest, to obtain children with the right genetic markup. As far as analysis went, those with the right gene and spiritual affinity would often end up harboring the right power over time.
As I recall, I was so much of a crybaby I could hardly stand it. And, though I knew it, or rather, because I knew it, I cried even louder because I knew he would protect me. But, this was the first time nothing would happen. We were sealed, trapped in a basement so cold it hardly made sense.
The cold was little more than an ingredient to foster our spiritual maturity. We were forced to constantly defend against it as it was magic. But—I never had to deal with that stress. His magic shielded both of us.
"I-I'm fine." He trembled before Xem embraced him even tighter. Squeezing away at whatever magic he had left. For three day, he had to constantly keep his body in a magic release state, otherwise Niveen, who possessed a weaker reserve than he did would freeze over.
A black fog, that always seemed distant when it shrouded him appeared much clearer to me. It felt warm, but he always looked in pain when he used it. It was as though it was running a muck in his soul. His emotions but a tapestry to its ever shifting beat.
He shivered, day after day as despair set in. His magic kept Niveen warm but never himself. His magic always running low but he never once sought to prioritize himself , not even for an instant. Because Niveen was weaker than he, he was always was. Each day felt like an eternity, a cold wind, food that was constantly laced with spiritual vibrations being their only nourishment. It was akin to a torturous death, the kind given to those who have committed a sin of the highest order.
The other children began to die out, the foreign spiritual vibrations, that were laced in the food acting like a slow toxin. One meant to strengthen their magic resistivity, yet, never did.
A black fog would always coat my food, cleansing it. I possessed no magic resistivity of my own so I survived only because he did those things for. My body was built to be a healer, as my mother's was. My healing was one that fed on my body, turning my molecular composition into something that could be used to heal another. Xem knew of this and never let me wield this power as it would bring me harm in such an environment.
Late nights, I would often catch him clawing at the bar, striking it as an attempt to break it. He would do it repeatedly until he would collapse from exhaustion. I could see it, the fog that kept me warm was ripping him asunder. Cracking his psyche—until not a shred of him was left.
Due to constant exposureto the magical cold and the spiritual vibrations in his food. Xem's health began to wane. He suddenly collapsed, gasping for air as his heart was in disarray. His heart rate became chaotic, mirroring his ever waning mental state. That was the fate for everyone who possessed a shadowy nature. Xem was no different.
I knew naught of what was happening to him so I cried for help. Help…which never came ….I tried my best to heal him but my ability was of no use to him. As I can only reshape the molecular composition of my body, I could not heal the soul. That was an ailment, not of the body but the soul. He must have been suffering yet, I only shed tears making his situation that more precarious.
Xem clenched his heart. A pain lingering as though a stake was being driven through it. That was what he experienced, a pain that only grew stronger each time he attempted to move. A black fog shrouded his body. The air that surrounded them growing denser.
It was the first time I felt malice corrupt the air, turning it brittle. Though malice was all I could sense, anguish and frustration was something that reared its head each time he crawled. His voice became deeper, reverberating with each word he spoke.
'Thou art—Thou art the sun that births this humble shadow. Thou art the one who giveth him purpose. Without thou, he loses himself. Wishing this world be gone with each breath he draws. That is his fate. One unbeknownst to all.'
He grabbed me staring into my eyes as I felt scared. That was Xem no longer, he had been possessed. His will, corroded by the very power that nested within him.
'Tis thy wish, is it not? Thou contemplates yon which must be done. The end is nigh. His final breath, upon us. Ere he crosses the gate of the dead, thou must make a choice. Utter that thou wish would be true. And, True it shall become. Thou desires it, no?"
And like every naïve child who knew nothing, I agreed. Wishing that he would come back to me. Before I knew it, he got up and proceed to decimate the prison in which we were trapped.
Xem got up, walking to the door before it broke open. He walked out, killing everyone who crossed his path. His eyes shrouded in black mist was the final sight they saw. We made it to the exit before he turned to speak.
'Thy wish—tis granted, no? As per our arrangement, his soul shall be my nest. His heart—the tapestry in which I resound. He shall never perish, experience pain nor love. On this day, he whom thou call Sequiturom Xem shall be reborn anew. Thou shalt became his light. The obsession that shackles him to this reality. No longer shall he think of himself, thy will wilt be yon he wishes to make manifest.'
With those words firmly engraved on my memory, Xem became Xem again. But he spoke to me no longer, he did all he wished for my sake and mine alone. And for my sake, he joined the very group that kidnapped us. Hollow Veil became the tapestry that Xem threatened. A place where their opposition of me would result in their deaths.
~
The flames spread, the Shockwave scattering them even further. Black wings shielded Niveen. Black water being released from them. A drop of blood fell to Niveen's face. When he opened his eyes, he saw the lion's head. Blood dripping from the hollows.
He rubbed its lower jaw before saying, "You are one of his, right? Take me to him. Something went wrong." It bit his clothes, carrying him by them. Its grey snake body slithered away, heading to the outskirts of the rubble.
~
Earlier:
"And with this, I Solemnly Declare—I will have my break by nightfall." Alnico exclaimed, his spiritual vibrations, running rampant. A tycoon of vengeful souls, firmly grabbing Xem. Pulling his soul to the lake of flames that appeared seemingly from nowhere.
"You are quite the mystery, Alnico Zahavi. You had this for a Trump card. I would expect no less from the man dubbed the Sovereign slayer." Xem struggled, attempting to keep his body and soul intact. Before his familiars rushed to his side, he undid their summoning. They are originally from the imaginary plane. But through me, they gain physical substance as they register as part of my body. But as they are from that plain, this art would rip them asunder. That fate is guaranteed.
Xem closed his eyes before the black fog that shrouded his body began to spread. It consumed even the souls that shackled him down. "Ye seek refuge. Your grudges require quelling. Through me, your wishes will be realized. Your tortuous servitude, annulled. You need only submit to me." The souls began to glitch. Vigorously. More so until they turned to black fog. The opening to lake of flames disappeared.
Xem got back to his feet before saying, "Zahavi, your soul paralysis has been conquered with little diffi—" Xem's eyes burst. His blood splattered against the ground. He was brought to his knees, clenching his hands tightly against the ground. He groaned barely keeping his scream in. The fog grew, rampaging as it begun to dampened. It bubbled, an eyeball barely visible passed it. He composed himself, bringing his rampant aura to a steady halt. It dissipated.
"I apologize for what you had to witness." The hollows that formed on his face when his eyes burst, began to glitch. Vigorously, more so until new eyes appeared. Shrouded in a black fog. "Shall we proceed?"
"Just now, you were in pain, weren't you? That is rather surprising, since a rod running through your chest never incited any form of response. Tell me, Xem Sequiturom. How many familiars do you have under your name?"
"About a thousand. I suppose, since I absorbed those earlier. The number is now roughly 1040. Those souls are non to happy with you."
"A thousand. That number is rather terrifying. Normally, half shadow familiar host limit lies around 300–500. They never exceed said limit. Do you know why that is the case?" Alnico touched the ground, allowing his magic to flow into it.
"Of course. Because of the emotional energy deficit theorem, yes?"
[The emotional energy deficit theorem stated; if an emotion, or state of consciousness was represented as a unit of energy(joule), the amount obtained is directly proportional to the number of alterations made manifest in reality's order. That is, consciousness dictates change on the imaginary plain which translates to the real one. Hence, the alterations made cannot exceed the total deficit as the equation would fall flat and become undefined. That is, with no adherence to equilibrium, it would be erased to counter the change imposed.]
"I suppose you have some knowledge after all. According to that theorem, half shadows can only host or make manifest about 500 familiars at most. After which, their mental and spiritual degradation would hit its peak. Resulting in their death or eventual erasure. For those who exceed 500, and not by much, their sanity would be forfeit in order to balance out the deficiency in energy. But, you seem sane. More so than even an ordinary shadow. How is that possible?"
"Well, because the unit of energy necessary for the summons does not only come from my state of consciousness. It comes from the countless people who dare cross Niveen. Insanity is the fate that befalls them."
"So what you are telling me is that you are a piece of garbage that needs disposing of."
"But, you will not be the one to han—" spikes ran through him. Ripping him apart. Xem's body, dismembered. Blood flowed from each of his limbs before reattaching themselves. Before they could, metal slipped between his joints.
"You have already tried to impale me. It never worked. It will be no different now." He attempted to free himself. He couldn't budge. They were firmly placed between his bone.
"Who said I was trying to impale you. I only need you still for a moment. Spirit stitching: Anatomy Alteration. Spiritual reconfiguration." A yellowish light shrouded Xem's body before he began screaming in pain.
"Being impaled hurts, yes?" Another rod ran through Xem. His body fell to the ground as little more than two pieces. The other metal spikes growing in size. His regeneration had become his enemy. His resilience, the source of his suffering. "What is the matter? Shadows are incapable of experiencing pain yet, you rive in agony. You need not worry, you will die once I am done altering the contract between you and your familiar."
His screaming got worse before all his surroundings disappeared. He was in a dark void where he heard a voice call to him. 'Thou art in pain, no?'
"No, I am fine." He got back to his feet.
'Nay is what thou chooses to say. Yet, if nothing is done, thou will experience fear. Should fear befall thou. Then—thy life, or contextual existence shalt be forfeit.'
"I know that, so just shut up." His surroundings appeared once more. His loud scream echoing through the forest. His screams turned to groans before he exclaimed, "Shadow Art: Fragmented Rouse; Sovereign Preside!"
But, unlike the chimera he called for, the beast that was brought into existence was worse. So much so, its appearance was considered unsightly. His left eye glowed crimson when the sky darkened. Black fog corrupted the clouds before turning it into a swamp. From it, a giant heart emerged. It was ripe with blood. Beating as a single drop fell from it. The drop hardened, falling to the ground as a meteorite.
It leveled the earth, turning the ground on which they stood into a crater. A layer of metal shielded Alnico from the impact. When the metal uncovered him, he looked around only to see that the town fell as collateral. To the sky, he faced before realizing that it was no where to be seen. The heart had vanished. Turning to nothing unlike the carnage it left in its wake.
Alnico closed his eyes, attempting to sense Xem's presence which was nowhere to be found. Did he destroy himself with that attack? He wondered. He felt droplets fall on him. The smell of blood actively missed in. When Alnico opened his eyes, he saw a dismembered Xem descending. In his hands, a red transparent rod.
Alnico stepped back to dodge, before Xem landed and threw the rod. It pierced his torso, pinning him to the ground. Xem, continued panting. His body, ripped apart and covered with burns. His ribs were crush, internal organs, nothing but mush. Yet, he drew breath still. He fell to the ground. His limbs remaining detached as no part of him could regenerate any longer. That was all the magic he could muster.