Shade trembled with hunger, trapped inside the desolate hellscape that he called home. The environment was beaming with fire, blood, fear, and desperation, emanating from those who were starving, alongside others striving to survive.
His mother returned a gruesome sight, blood coating her hunting clothes and small fresh scars adorned her arms. The father trailing behind her, dragging a freshly slain demon corpse. "You both should eat, I will take care of the cleanup later," the mother spoke sternly, placing her sickle weapon on the counter.
The father nodded and used his claws to tear into the flesh, ripping off chunks that still contained the essence of the demon's soul. He offered the first portion to his son, fully aware that the mother had deprived the young teen of food as a form of punishment. Shade expressed his gratitude with a bow before consuming the mangled flesh, relishing the blend of the soul and the metallic taste of the blood.
As the family consumed their meals in silence, the sounds from outside went suspiciously quiet, an occurrence not entirely unusual, yet strange given that their world was known as 'The Screaming Flame.' After finishing his portion, Shade bowed to his parents and left to meditate in his cave. Once the rocks fell into place, signaling Shade's departure, the father began to scold the mother, "You gotta ease up on the punishments, Yelen. You are being way too harsh towards your son, you nearly killed him, he was at the brink of death simply because he refused to accompany you on the hunt. I know we're demons and all, but you're way too extreme with Shade."
"He must learn his place. If we perish, he will not survive without knowing how to fight for his food, let alone survive being attacked in the first place. He should consider himself lucky that I am providing him with food at all, actions have consequences," Yelen countered, "What will become of him once we are gone, Milo?"
"Yelen! This is why we are here; we have to show him the positive aspects of this damned life, not just the pain. I know it is important to prepare him for the challenges ahead, but he must also learn about love, kindness. Otherwise, our lineage will cease to exist! I mean hell, maybe he could be the first of our kind to finally figure a way off of this fucking planet we're stuck on. Hurting him like this just won't do it."
As the argument escalated, an ominous darkness began to envelop their home, a strange thing to happen in a world typically illuminated by flames, colored in hues of red and purple. A gut-wrenching screech reverberated outside, followed by the sudden collapse of the walls, catching the parents off guard.
Before them stood a solitary Shadow killer, the harbinger of darkness and death, its glowing white pupils encircled by a swirling black aura, surrounded by pools of blood from the family's entire demon colony, its dark, menacing claws dripped with the blood of the fallen as it advanced toward the family.
Yelen growled, extending her sharp nails and baring her fangs as a warning to the intruder. "The Shadow assassin.. I thought your species finally got killed off like you fucking deserve." Aware of her slim chances against such a formidable foe, she stood strong to protect her family. The father also growled, adopting an aggressive stance, the two demons would be more effective than one, especially against a significantly stronger and more skilled adversary.
The Shadow laughed at their attempts to instill fear, enveloping them in a shroud of darkness that forced the couple to fight blindly. At the very least, these two would provide some amusement rather than merely serving as prey for the Shadow. "How silly of you to think such a thing. I'll make sure your death will be more painful than your Ata's, Yelen."
Milo and Yelen roared as they charged toward the glowing white eyes, slashing at anything that moved. Within the dark clouds the Shadow continued to taunt them, skillfully manipulating the darkness to mark the demons and dodge their attacks.
"Come on and fight like me like you did my father you fucking bitch!" Yelen roars out, her crimson eyes doing their best to scan through the fog of black. She felt a splitting headache for a moment before finally seeing the hunter in front of her. "There you go, not a coward after all!" Yelen yells, her hair now catching fire from the pure rage running through her veins, she charges at the Shadow, claws first and already manages a few slashes in before hissing in pain, looking down and seeing the shadow snake wrapped around her leg and biting her hard. "You little-" She slashes at the snake and catches it on fire with her hair, slicing the snake in half before returning her attention to the assassin, blood oozing out her mouth from the snake bite. "I'll rip your heart apart for what you did to my Ata!" She screams before plunging her claws into the dark figure's chest, feeling the other's heart beating in her hand. Yelen felt her lips curve up into a wicked grin as she finally thought she could kill the Shadow who murdered her father, but unfortunately, a tragic fate unfolded. As the shadowy veil lifted, the lovers locked eyes, their expressions filled with anguish. It took a moment for Yelen to realize she had been fighting her love this whole time, not the hunter. Even worse, when she looked down at her chest, she could see her partner's claws deep inside her torso. Tears streamed down their faces as they realized their imminent demise, trillions of thoughts swarmed their minds during their last moments of life, knowing that they could no longer protect their child, watch him grow or even heal whatever damages the mother has caused Shade. They collapsed on the rocky ground, Yelen's hair extinguished, blood seeping from both their chests, exchanging one final glance before the Shadow claimed their lives in gruesome fashion, ripping their flesh to shreds. The demons' souls tried escaping their mangled bodies and making their way to the afterlife realm, but they unfortunately couldn't get far before the Shadow grabbed their souls and vanished them to the void where they now ceased to exist.
The shadow grabbed the remaining heads of the parents and was about to start eating them before they got warping headache, 'Take the child, he shall be the chosen one to save your species~' a voice echoed in their mind, their emerald eyes began to glow a bit of green as a new sense of powerful aura leaked from a pile of rocks in the distance.
Throughout this time, Shade remained in his cave, isolated from the outside world and unable to hear any disturbances due to the surrounding rocks that muffled most of the sounds. He assumed the noises were merely his parents arguing or the anguished cries of souls beyond his cave. A sudden wave of dread washed over him, accompanied by an intense heat radiating from the back of his neck. "Ow, the hell..?" He groaned in irritation until an overwhelming force began to dismantle his cave. Looking up, Shade was confronted by a dark figure looming above him, holding his parents' severed heads, which were then dropped at his feet. Terror gripped Shade as he saw the lifeless forms of his parents and the corpses scattered around him, leading him to believe he would be the next victim. Instinctively, he raised his hands in a futile attempt to shield himself, "Please no! I-I don't want to die yet! P-Please have mercy! Ama'.. Ama' I'm so sorry.."
The Shadow remained motionless, offering no attack or words, simply kneeling before the teen. They could feel the aura of power grow stronger the closer they came into contact with Shade, he possessed a remarkable potential. The Shadow seized him by the neck, feeling the heat emanating from it, preparing to mark him. A dark symbol seared into Shade's skin, eliciting a scream of agony before he succumbed to the overwhelming power and lost consciousness. The Shadow bowed to the newly inscribed mark before lifting Shade and vanishing into the void, transporting them to the Shadow world, their domain.
YOU ARE READING
Hellish Shadows
General Fiction"Gods are meant to be worshiped, but instead I was used, I won't let that happen again." - The Void "I was the only survivor, I will bring my people back, even if it means tearing myself apart in the process." -Ash "Purpose is what drives every livi...
