Shadow Beings

63. Fight

This isn't real.

My pleading tone reverberated around me, fading away as soon as it sounded. My palms felt sweaty and my fists shook in fear. My heart beat fast, overcome by a choking sensation that would cause my heart to leap out at any second. I attempted to speak but my voice failed me, my entire body going numb. I didn't understand how it was possible for me to stand anymore. Only then I realised that I was without a body.

I willed myself to shut my sight at the ghastly scene, but something forced me to keep them open, commanding me to study it. A catastrophic heat began to develop within me, a sore sheet of purple light tormenting my eyes.

"This is very real," a sinister voice said, the sound abnormally calm. I moved my gaze around to detect the source of the words, but it echoed in every corner of... wherever I was, if it even had a boundary.

My eyes were drawn towards the sight, but everything in me urged me to close my the gateway. My mind was disturbed but I focused only on myself, following a light.

The energy.

I found solace in its comfort, but even it urged me to face the scene.

Let yourself be strong, whispered the soft voice of a raven. Don't let the power overcome you. You don't own it, but neither are you defeated by it. It is within you, as a friend.

Face what is real.

I was confused. Face what is real?

My eyes averted their gaze to the bodies in front of me. Galen, Jay, Jack, Ava, Evelyn, Conrad, Trina, Theo, Aurelia, Ariana too... their lifeless bodies lay on the ground. Suddenly, guilt overcame me, a feeling that wanted to break my very existence.

What am I doing? What is going on? I shouldn't be here. It would be better that way. 

I wish I never existed.

I stood horrified as the blood began to move towards me, insisting that it was all my fault. Holly and Elek's silhouettes appeared alongside our friends, their backs turned towards me.

Slowly, I raised my shaking hands. Their wetness wasn't a mere illusion. The blood taunted me on my hands, showing my destruction.

Face what is real.

I stared at Galen's peaceful face, sorrow filling me. My head turned towards my hands again, the blood dripping through the gaps between my fingers. Blood collected in a considerable amount had always been a sensitive thing, numbing my senses at its sight.

Oh, I thought as realisation dawned on me. Face what is real.

Fear is real.

Taking a shaky breath I raised my hands to my chest's level. My breathing slowly calmed, even though the blood on my hands bubbled like lava in an active volcano. The quivering eventually stopped and I sighed in temporary relief.

Breaking the tension around me I closed my eyes within the world, willing the seven circles to face me. I remembered the fresh smell of the Fall of Glisten and it's sparkling beauty, its familiar scent and sound serving my memory with its infinite quietude. My hands extended forward as firmly as they could, waiting patiently.

Cold but soothing water fell onto my hands and I stayed still for that moment. Gathering my senses I slowly moved my limbs, entwining my fingers to wash away the thick liquid. My energy slowed its pace as the heaviness left my hands, a soft breeze drying it up.

As I opened my eyes a dark smoke choked the air, confining me in a wall of gaseous chaos. I took periodic breaths, each remembering the fantasy of the lands I visited, the same that once existed on Earth.