Random short stories

The Heir of a Monarch (Part 1)

A young man by the name of Rindou lived in the centre of the busy big city of Los Angeles, wherein shadows danced amid the neon glare of streetlights. Rindou moved with a serene confidence that belied his years, his jet-black hair and eyes that proved to hold the mysteries of the cosmos. But hidden beneath his cool façade was a strength unmatched by any other: the capacity to speak with shadows and bring back the dead.

Rindou was raised by his renowned detective father YuHao, who was renowned for his sharp mind and unwavering intuition. But when Rindou was 10, his amazing father died, a gunshot hit his heart during a gunfight with a dangerous gang. Rindou wanted to be like his father, to catch criminals and bring justice upon them. He studied hard and was able to become the youngest detective in his bureau at the age 20. Rindou frequently felt the pressure of his late father's legacy bearing down on him. He would make him proud.

Rindou developed the ability to control shadows when he was 15. At first, he was scared. Unable to comprehend how he could do it. With great amount of patience and practice, he got the hang of it and was able to bend the shadows to his will. But Rindou did not realise the full scope of his powers until during the night he happen upon a murder scene that was hidden in darkness after work.

The deceased, a middle-age woman whose face had been brutally severed from her body, was sprawled on the chilly concrete, terror visible in her lifeless eyes. A feeling of uneasiness overcame Rindou as he knelt alongside her, for he knew that this was no routine slaughter. This was the product of a deranged mentality that took great pleasure in seeing other people suffer. Rindou summoned the victim's shadow with a murmured order, "Arise" and it formed itself about him like swirls of smoke. "Who did this to you?" With his voice almost audible above the silence of the night, Rindou questioned.

The shadow moved in a fluid, dreamlike manner as it stirred. And then it spoke, a voice that sounded as if it came from the bottom of the underworld. It snarled, "The Face Collector," its words heavy with grief and hopelessness. "Be wary the darkness that surrounds you, for it harbours mysteries that even I dare not speak." And the shadow disappeared, returning to the darkness of which it came.

Rindou descended down into the city's underworld in an attempt to solve the riddle of the Face Collector's gruesome acts. He did this through navigating a trail of clues which led him down a maze of treachery and deceit. However, the shadows appeared to get darker and louder with every step he went, almost drowning out his thoughts. Rindou pursued shadows for weeks, his thoughts fixed on solving the Face Collector's identification puzzle. To no avail, he conducted witness interviews, examined crime scenes, and conferred with experts. The murderer continued to be evasive, a ghostly figure that waited to attack once more in the shadows. Once Rindou confirmed the shadow he had summoned left, he clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes, glaring at the ground in annoyance.

The Face Collector. A serial killer that has been going around taking the faces of victims for several months. The deaths always had the same memo, the victims were all women, varying the age of late forties, their faces gone. They were surgically removed according to autopsy reports. The bureau has been working restlessly to find the guy. Whenever the crime scene was cleaned up and the police were gone. Rindou would return to the location of the murder and use his powers to summon the dead but he always got the same answer. He only knows that the killer is a man, about 170cm tall, not bulky nor buff. But would always wear a mask and black leather gloves to conceal his appearance. It frustrated him to no end. This crazy man has to be stopped.

And then, just as Rindou was starting to give up, a breakthrough was discovered in the shape of a mysterious note found at the site of the most recent murder. It was a hint, a riddle that needed to be worked out, and Rindou realised he was getting closer than ever to learning the truth. It led a bit of distance away from Los Angeles. Taking by car took about 1 and half hour.

The young detective finds himself standing in front of an ancient, abandoned house with boarded-up windows and collapsing walls after pursuing the trail of breadcrumbs. He pushed the creaking door open nervously and walked inside, alerting all of his senses, his shadows at the ready to attack anything that come at him.

The house's inside was completely black, and the smell of rot permeated the air. Various corners of the walls were covered in cobwebs and the wallpaper were worn down from neglect. Stepping on the creaky old floorboards, the detective got to work, he closed his eyes and focused his energy. Reopening his eyes revealing a pair of glowing purple eyes in place of his once dark grey colour. His shadow then expanded, covering the entire room he stood in and stretched out to cover the rest of the house, searching. He did not have to wait long before finding the presence of a secret area hidden behind a bookcase as he made his way through the shadows, his pulse racing. He shoved the books aside and entered the room beyond with a sense of dread.