The Forgotten Light

2. Darksen

Darken's black eyes looked at his own reflection in the mirror. There was no silver flaw in his long black hair. Good. It seemed that the sparkle disappeared from his eyes every day, as if he was slowly dying... His lips had forgotten how to smile.

Dead eyes, dead smile. Did he even still have a spark of life in him?

He felt Keiran's soft fur rubbing against his hand. Darksen turned his gaze away from the mirror and knelt before the huge cat on one knee. The beautiful snow panther was now towering over him, watching him intently from above. It was unbelievable that the creature sitting in front of him was once a kitten that couldn't roar and, in order to fall asleep, had to lie cuddled up into his side. Darksen dipped his hands into the cat's long fur, petting it from its ears to its neck. The beast began to purr and rested its muzzle against his forehead, its wet nose touching Darksen's nose.

"You seem to be the only one to remind me that I still have a soul."

The panther moved its head away and, as if understanding his words, measured him with its turquoise eyes. He seemed to be saying "You are not soulless."

Darksen almost smiled. "Thanks, buddy."

He straightened up and reached for the shiny sword lying on the bed. He raised it to the light, tracing the rays of the glowing crystal suspended from the ceiling that reflected on the smooth blade. Maybe Keiran was right - Darksen was not a monster. After all, he hadn't taken anyone's life for a long time...

What an absurd reasoning.

After all, instead of killing, he maimed. He knew where to hit so that a person would only think he or she was already dead. He knew that from the wounds he inflicted, any person who wanted to live would soon recover.

So what if it was crueler than inflicting death?

After all, he was letting them suffer, suffer so horribly...

Was it mercy to kill with emptiness in the heart and eyes, or to spare a life in way that it would be better to be dead?

Darksen tucked his sword into its embroidered royal scabbard, threw his long black cloak over his shoulders and turned to Keiran one last time before opening the door. "Stay. And try to demote less than you did last time."

The snow panther collapsed with his whole body on the fluffy carpet and rested his head on his paws.

"Good kitty."

Darksen, walking down the night-shrouded corridor, had a strange feeling that this hunt would be different from all the ones so far.