The Being (Hunter x Hunter)

From, Your Old Friend, To

To you, The Being, who are you? What do you want?

-Alden

As a young child, he had heard the whispers of "That Thing". The then young boy never believed such tales. Nothing more than fairytales to scare young children. He never paid any mind to those stories. Until, one day.

He was warned by the adults, by his parents and by some older kids. Never seek It out. Only misfortune would be brought. That was what It wanted. To bring tragedy, no matter how small it'd be or who'd it affect.

The other kids, especially the older ones, knew to keep conversations about It hushed and hidden from the adults. Stories can spread so easily, especially with children. So when one arrived, a teen boy, who claimed there was way to actually meet the creature, it quickly became like wildfire. Soon enough, all children knew.

He knew not to do it,  but he could not deny the curiosity he'd felt. No one was daring enough to try it. He certainly wasn't. Not at all. There was no way he would ever go into the woods, with a group of kids, just to risk dying from that demon. Which is why he went secretly. 

That time, just once, when he walked to a clearing, where It supposedly would appear should one be unlucky enough. It was a dark night, cloudy skies, with only a torch to guide his way.

A twig snapped. He'd spun around only to see a dark brown deer walking towards him and nudge him away. He was confused, not understanding what the deer was doing.

Fuzzy black dots appeared and grew in his vision. Everything became hazy and the deer turned white. And, right as all became black, the boy saw bright red.

He'd wake to the sounds of his mother crying and his father talking to the priest. 

To you, The Being, stay away. Why do you do this?

-Alden

Nothing had immediately happened. For a few days, his father had waited by the door for long hours at night just in case that demon tried to come back. The next few weeks were his parents and the priest telling him what they knew of the creature. 

A serpent. A trickster. The Bringer of All Calamities.

T̶h̶a̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶t̶r̶u̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶.̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶i̶s̶h̶e̶d̶ ̶I̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶l̶i̶z̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶o̶n̶e̶r̶.̶

It  would deceive others to gain whatever it desired. Sometimes, it lured people just gain their body. Possession. Being replaced. That was how It managed to live among humanity unnoticed. Always there, blending in so perfectly. 

And that is what his parents feared. That their son wasn't their son anymore. That, in his place, was a Devil of sorts who held such strong hatred against mankind.

I truly apologize for not understanding sooner. Not even you know how to stop it.

The incident was kept under wraps. He stayed home for weeks under the excuse that he'd fallen ill with a contagious disease.

Those weeks, along with the knowledge of It, were spent with the priest routinely checking his eyes and blessing the house in secrecy. 

His mother repeatedly told him of all the stories. Warned him to never do it again and to never speak of It when he has children. The slightest whisper about It would spread it's existence or so she'd claimed.

"So why are you telling me about It if that's how continues to live?" he'd questioned.

"When you have children, you'll understand,".

He had scoffed, and retorted he'd never have a child. His mother simply smiled before patting his head. Would he ever really understand?

No, he thought then. He couldn't understand how a living being, who could think and live in society was capable of  causing terror or never dying. Just existing for the sole purpose to torment people for whatever reason. He'd never understand that.

Only was it when I became a young man, did I start to question what was taught to me.