Jet and Jade | Black and White 1

Chapter 27: Jet

Ice pierced my torso.

I hissed, trying to get it out as Banvon smiled tauntingly and prepared another attack. No. I had to attack first this time.

I gave up on removing the splinters of frost from myself. Instead, waves of shadows rolled around me, acting as armour. I shot forwards, half using reaper-teleportation, and threw a punch and a kick.

Not one hit him. Of course.

Then frost was surrounding me, penetrating the darkness, breaking it into a million shattered pieces. It was closing in. There was no way I could defend myself from this, unless...

I forced a burst of pure blackness out of my body, and it broke the frost apart and raced towards Banvon at speed that he would never reach. Agony shot through me, even as his knees gave out and he fell to the floor with a bang.

Yes... I should have thought of this; it should have been clear from the beginning. I should have known that using the true darkness of my life force was the only way to overpower him.

But I had hoped, I had hoped so much that it would not come to this. Because it would minus the chances of my survival by immeasurable heights. Well, I still had to continue doing this.

I rushed forward again, letting black fire surround me.

Please, Jade... be safe, I silently begged as I exchanged thousands of blows with Banvon. Each I inflicted upon him was killing me. I might not be able to protect you anymore... but this threat that I am taking care of, Banvon Rydonl... is the only one who can truly harm you and me.

I wrapped my arms around Banvon's neck. I knew the flames were burning him, and I was glad. Finally, I would be rid of him.

He groaned in pain, writhing around.

We both knew that even if I broke his neck, he wouldn't die. The only way to kill him was to completely destroy his body, and I could only do that with something akin to fire, because his demon element was ice.

Both of us continued to struggle, and finally, he broke free.

I leapt back as fast as I could as Banvon turned to hit me, fury clear on his onyx face. Determination filled me as he advanced towards me, and adrenaline coursed through.

From now on... I will be honest, I told myself silently, hoping that even though Jade couldn't hear me, she could feel my promise.

I did a back-flip when Banvon shot a layer of ice forwards. It formed a wall of icicles that shot upwards between us, blocking my way to him. I watched him through the gaps between the icicles, and he did the same.

Banvon gritted his teeth, and the action warned me that he was about to do something. I guessed right-- he was the first to make the next move, phasing through the ice. The demon's ice-covered, obsidian-studded shoe was the first part of him that I saw, and I knew it was a resonating attack.

I moved to the back of the room with reaper teleportation, and thank Hell it was far enough to escape the heat-wave-like ringing in the air. It was at that moment that I realized I was no longer shooting the life-darkness out of me.

Darn. I hadn't even noticed.

I was going to die soon if I didn't end this.

My whole body ached and screamed for me to stop as I threw myself at Banvon. But I could not. I activated the life-darkness again. This would be the last time. Either I would die before I could undo and do it again, or Banvon would die and I would win.

The dark fire flamed up around me, an aura of black.

He bowled to the floor with an ear-splitting cry, and I did not let go.

I clung onto him with the last of my might, my strength, my power. In my right ear, I could hear his accelerated heartbeats. If I did this right, today would be the last day they existed.

If.

If, if, if. So many things were not for certain.

If this situation turned around, today would be the last day I had seen Jade.

My arms, my legs, all four of my limbs were begging for release. My life force was fading away as I forced myself to hold on.

But, still, all I was thinking of, all that came to mind when I searched... was my sister.

Maybe I should never have come to kill Banvon. He had anticipated that I would, but... what if I had not? If I had never been fueled by my revenge, if I had never decided that it was the best path to walk on, what would my life be like? If I had just focused on protecting Jade, how would everything be?

Then my life would still have been an empty shell. I would be living for just Jade, without the revenge part... and what good would that do? Yet, perhaps Jade would have been happy. That was all that mattered.

Ice was pounding my back, the result of Banvon's fury.

What I wanted was nothing. As long as Jade smiled, I didn't care. If I was the one she was laughing at... let it be so.

But was that how I really thought?

Crimson blood spilled from my back like waterfalls, flooding the floor like oceans.

How could I tell myself I only cared for Jade, when I was so selfish? What was I but an idiot and a jerk?

My arms were going slack. I made them stay around Banvon.

But if I had not split my soul into two and left half in Hell and half with Jade, would I even have met Banvon? I should not have listened to my inner urging back then...

But I had been an innocent, naive three-year-old reaper, with no mother or father to guide me. How was I to know what I should have done?

I could feel my life force disappearing, bit by bit.

"...Jet..."

I was the only one at wrong. Jade had deserved so much better, but I was ruining her life.

Maybe it would be better if I completely disappeared.

"Jet..."

Would she feel better if I didn't exist? If I had never existed? Or would she have died in the beginning?

"Jet..."

I finally registered the voice in my mind.

Banvon. He was speaking.

"...what do you want?" I managed to say.

Why was I asking? It wasn't as if knowing what he would say would do anything.

"I..." he choked, and I could hear his heavy breath. "It probably wouldn't... mean anything... to you... but... will you listen... to what I wish to tell you?"

I blinked.

Did it really matter?

"Alright," I said. "Say it. Before you die."

He hesitated. "...thank you... for giving me this chance..."

"Hurry up. Your time is running out."

He swallowed.

I was almost growing impatient when he spoke again.

"I'm sorry, Jet..."