The Twenty Virtues Book 1- The Twenty Generals

37-Shadows Of The Soul

The view wasn't the best. Helena was trapped inside one of her uncle's barriers, while he lay seriously injured. His opponent, however, remained intact and utterly unfazed.

"Light like the one you live in? What is that supposed to mean? No. Forget it. It's trivial." The general snapped his fingers, and another beam of light flew toward the man. Immediately, James raised his barrier. This time, he managed to block the attack. Lord V'huluver stared in confusion for a moment, noticing that this time, the barrier was not transparent but densely green. "Hmm... thinking quickly."

"Yes, your attacks are light, from what I understand. The reason they penetrate my barriers is because of their transparency, allowing light to pass through easily. That's why I made my barriers block even light rays."

"In life, for every victory, there is a defeat. Even if you defend my attacks, you can't see me with a barrier like that between us. How can you react to an attack coming out of nowhere? Don't tell me you're going to use the same strategy as before and lock yourself in a dome?"

What other choice did he have? V'huluver was too fast and destructive for James to risk staying exposed for too long. Ignoring Helena's protests, James surrounded himself with his green barrier while removing the transparency around his niece.

"What can I do against this man?" he wondered in the darkness of his dome, lost from everything else that existed, forgetting that in the middle of the void of darkness, that's when the mind becomes most disturbed. The only way to escape the light is to isolate oneself in the gloom. A gloom where there is nothing but your thoughts.

In the light, V'huluver shines. In the darkness, V'hatred broods.

A scream broke the man's concentration, a young scream, a female scream, Helena's scream. But she was protected in her barrier, not to mention she wouldn't scream like that; it couldn't be her.

"Are you sure it isn't her?" Someone responded from the darkness, but that voice... was James's own. Of course, it was his voice. In the dark, it's just you and you. Remember? "You always suspected that, even though she presents herself as tough, she was a completely insecure girl. Now, after discovering the monster she was, that idiot must be losing control completely."

"Stop right there," James retorted. "I don't know what you're trying to do with my head, deceiver. But I would never speak of my niece like that."

"You wouldn't speak it, but you think it. Don't try to hide from yourself the anger you feel about her impulsiveness. You know that if it weren't for you cleaning up her mess, she wouldn't survive two days. You're such a caring uncle, so protective, and that idiot keeps complaining and fighting with you. She continues to be a beast."

"... You're right." Maybe for someone ignorant of themselves, this kind of psychological attack would work, but James was self-aware of what he thought and felt. That alone wouldn't make him lose control. "She really irritates and tires me sometimes, but it's not like any human is wonderful all the time, especially someone with as many burdens as Helena."

"But are you obligated to keep worrying about her? Just because she's your brother's daughter, does that obligate you to be her guardian? Your brother was like her and managed to be more decent than you, at least that's how you saw it and how everyone insisted on reminding you, how responsible your brother was and how much of a mess you were. You couldn't keep your life on track, and now you need to?"

"Enough of this disturbance!" The man exclaimed, seriously considering leaving the midst of that gloom. The voice grew louder as he remained there. It was as if it was highlighted and closing in, as if sound spotlights were being placed on it. "I'm not going to keep listening to this..."